Charlotte Casiraghi is known for frequenting the front rows of fashion shows and mingling with A-listers, while exuding glamour everywhere she goes. However in a new interview, Princess Grace Kelly's granddaughter opened up about her struggles with "loneliness" following the tragic death of her father Stefano Casiraghi.
Charlotte opened up about the pain of losing her father and how she coped Photo: Francis Apesteguy/Getty Images
"Anxiety and existential anguish are part of everyone's life," Prince Caroline's daughter told L'Observateur de Monaco. "My personal experience has been of sad events, such as my father's early death, but these are things that happen to everyone, no matter where he comes from."
Charlotte, who was only four-years-old when her father was killed in a 1990 boating accident, eventually found solace in poetry and philosophy. The 30-year-old admitted, "Loneliness, I felt it early enough, adolescent, and this is what prompted me to introspection, especially since I had a temperament that inclined me to analysis. Later, the company of philosophers gave me the impression that I was not alone. I think this is more a matter of my personal sensitivity than of the fact that I come from a family indeed a little particular."
The Monaco royal spoke at the "Les Rencontres Philosophiques" at the Musee Oceanographique on June 8, 2017 Photo: Christian Alminana/Getty Images for Montblanc
As for whether she practices philosophy on a daily basis, the mum-of-one laughed, "I do not get up in the morning thinking of Nietzche, looking at the sky, and telling myself that I am in contact with the eternal return." Charlotte added, "I do not understand philosophy in this way. Philosophy animates me and inhabits me and when one is upset by a text or a thought, one cannot compartmentalise. I live with the desire to understand. It is part of the being that I am."
The Monaco royal, who founded the magazine Ever Manifesto, has been immersed in arts and culture since her childhood, which led her to develop a fascination for poets like Charles Baudelaire and Arthur Rimbaud. "I was fortunate, thanks to my mother, to have early access to culture and literature, which allowed me to forge a taste for critical thinking," Charlotte shared.
The Gucci muse said that philosophy is 'part of the being that I am' Photo: Venturelli/Getty Images for GUCCI
When she is not reading, the brunette beauty is parenting her three-year-old son Raphaël Elmaleh or serving as a muse for Gucci and Montblanc. "I'm lucky to be able to combine different experiences," she admitted. Charlotte also sits on the board of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Foundation that strives to break the cycle of poverty. Prince Albert's niece said, "I am very concerned about the status of women. I accompany the reflection of my sponsor on extreme poverty. We must help women in distress, give them decent material conditions so that their children can be enveloped in gentleness. A child who has lacked maternal attention, reliability, will be more exposed to violence. This is the state of emergency of life. This must be a major political concern."
And though she may not be a fan of the word "feminist," Charlotte explained, "It's not that I do not like feminism, but what interests me is the dialogue between the feminine and the masculine. We are not going to wage a war of the sexes! The singularity of each must be made possible. Obviously, it is sometimes more complex for women to build a singular destiny."