Sunday, July 31, 2022

Princess Charlene at the Vatican

2013

2022

There was some discussion online of  privilège du blanc and Charlene, Princess of Monaco. As the Catholic wife of a Catholic head of state she may wear white in the presence of the Pope. Others with the privilege are Catholic queens, princesses of the House of Savoy, and the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. From The Court Jeweller:

Charlene’s wedding and engagement rings sparkled on her left hand as she and Albert departed after the audience. The other big question I’ve seen raised about this meeting has to do with the color that Charlene is wearing. As the wife of a Catholic head of state, Charlene is entitled to wear white when meeting with the Pope. (It’s called the privilège du blanc.) So why wasn’t she wearing white for this audience?

The answer is that sometimes Charlene wears white when meeting with the Pope, and sometimes she doesn’t. There doesn’t seem to be an identifiable pattern to the instances where she wears white vs. black. I’m guessing it’s just a personal decision on each individual occasion. Above, for example, Charlene wears white for a private audience with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican in January 2013. (Read more.)
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2 comments:

gemoftheocean said...

The bare shoulders are tacky and so is that faux rosary being used as a necklace.

elena maria vidal said...

I prefer the white outfit myself.