Park the party? Princess Charlene of Monaco marks her 46th birthday with low-key celebrations, following claims by former palace accountant that she hired 'illegal immigrants' for £90 a day

Princess Charlene of Monaco celebrates her 46th birthday today, but in light of recent revelations about the royal family's spending habits, celebrations are likely to be quieter than planned.

The former Olympic swimmer has been back on the royal front line in recent months and appears to have put her health problems and rumored marital problems behind her.

In a recent magazine interview with Monaco Matin, the princess said she felt “serene and happy.”

Claims this week by a former royal accountant to Monegasque households about the spending habits of the South African-born royal family are likely to have put any major party plans on hold.

Claude Palmero, 67, was in charge of the palace's finances for more than two decades but resigned in July after being targeted by an anti-corruption website.

He claimed Princess Charlene hired illegal immigrants for less than £90 a day, while her personal expenses allowance skyrocketed to more than £1 million a year.

The claims are the latest blow to Prince Albert and his wife, who have had a tumultuous few years.

In September, Charlene dismissed the rumors of marital problems – which predated her marriage to Albert in 2011 – as “exhausting.”

Before their wedding, the French media dubbed her the “runaway bride” for allegedly trying to flee Monaco before the ceremony (which she later dismissed as “categorical lies”).

Perhaps it was the fact that they seemed an unlikely combination: the statuesque South African Olympian and the Mediterranean royal who, despite being Grace Kelly's son, manages to look like a staid accountant.

Yet Zimbabwean-born Charlene Wittstock has said the connection was immediate when she met the scion of the Grimaldi family at a swimming competition in Monte Carlo in 2000.

“I was 22 and focused,” Charlene, who competed in the Sydney Olympics that same year, told Tatler magazine.

'I wasn't in an emotional position for a relationship. But from the moment I met Albert, I felt a deep sense of destiny.

'I once said that I felt weak at my knees. That's a bit of a corny way of putting it, but it's true: I knew he was the one.”

Six years later, the pair made their debut as a couple at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics, and four years later they were engaged.

But what should have been a happy time was overshadowed by the prince's complicated private life.

In May 2005, Air France flight attendant Nicole Coste claimed that Albert was the father of her son Alexandre, who was born in 2003, three years after the prince met Charlene.

He acknowledged paternity after a DNA test.

In 2006, he subsequently admitted that he was the father of a daughter, Jazmin Grace, after DNA testing, thanks to an affair with her American mother.

Rumors of a third love child circulated in the run-up to the wedding, amid reports that Charlene had tried to leave Monaco three times (she later dismissed the speculation as 'categorical lies').

However, all issues were seemingly resolved in time for their £53 million three-day wedding, which included a religious ceremony in the courtyard of Monaco's Prince's Palace and a concert by The Eagles.

Charlene wore a custom off-the-shoulder creation by Giorgio Armani Prive, embroidered with 40,000 Swarovski crystals, 20,000 pearl drops and 30,000 gold stones in a floral design. It took three seamstresses 2,500 hours to make it.

Photos showed the royal bride in tears, which Charlene later said was because the day had been “overwhelming.”

“There were all mixed emotions because of the rumors and the tension was definitely building and I burst into tears (immediately after the ceremony),” she reflected.

'And then I burst into tears again because I thought, “Oh no, now the whole world has seen me cry.”

But speculation about the wedding continued after it emerged Charlene and Albert spent the first night of their honeymoon in South Africa in separate hotels 10 miles apart.

Apparently the prince had a conference to attend early the next morning and he didn't want to get stuck in traffic.

Still, rumors of their breakup reached a fever pitch in 2021, when complications from a sinus infection that required several surgeries left Charlene stranded in South Africa for 10 months.

Albert turned to the media to correct the misunderstandings surrounding their divorce.'

She didn't leave Monaco on a high,” he told People magazine.

“She didn't leave because she was angry with me or anyone else. She went to South Africa to reassess her Foundation's work there and take some time off with her brother and some friends.”

He added: 'It was only intended to be a stay of one week and a maximum of ten days, and [she is still there now] because she had this infection, all these medical complications arose.”

Charlene eventually returned to Europe in November 2021, but was still ill. She had to undergo further treatment at an undisclosed facility outside Monaco, fueling further rumors that the couple were living apart.

But in 2022, Charlene seemed to be on the road to recovery, even venturing into public appearances and releasing a photo in honor of her 11th wedding anniversary with Albert.

On December 15, 2022, Charlene told Monaco Matin newspaper that she felt “much better” and had “much more energy.”

Prince Albert also praised his wife for “turning things around in an incredible way” after her “very tough year”.

Now firmly in the clutches of Monaco's high society, Charlene no longer takes anything for granted.

“My family and those I love are my rock,” she says. 'I approach the future, step by step, day by day.'