Princess Charlene sends her brother to hand out masks

Princess Charlene of Monaco has fully committed her foundation to the fight against Covid-19 in the Principality. Her brother, Gareth Wittstock, took on the role of distributing masks made by the foundation to Monaco’s residents.

The Princess Charlene Foundation had 5,000 reusable masks made some weeks ago, and it was Prince Albert II’s brother-in-law who took charge of handing them out to Monegasques to limit the spread of the virus. As Secretary-General of the Princess Charlene Foundation, Gareth Wittstock began distributing the masks mid-April to the clients and traders at Monaco’s food markets. This time, he gave masks intended for 50 of Monaco’s Olympians to Jeremy Bottin, President of the Monégasque Association of Olympic Athletes.

Special Olympics Monaco

Last week Gareth Wittstock joined Pierre Van Klaveren, President of Special Olympics Monaco, to meet the Monegasque athletes and to offer them these special masks from the princess. Adorned with a message of solidarity #strongtogether, the athletes warmly received the gesture. According to the foundation, “the athletes were very touched by the visit, having been confined for several weeks.”

Special Olympics Monaco, of which Princess Charlene has been Honorary President since 2012, will soon organise the athletes’ return to training for the Winter Games in the United States in 2022 and the Summer World Championships in Berlin in June 2023.

Masks for everyone

In recent weeks, Wittstock, who moved to Monaco upon his sister’s marriage, has distributed several thousand masks to businesses and organisations of the Principality, as well as among the population. Among those who have received masks is the Principality’s Association Monégasque des Handicapés Moteurs (Association for the Disabled) which works to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Employees of Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, working in the establishments that remain open for permanent residents, have also received masks.

Famous ambassadors 

These masks, which can be reused up to 40 times, were specially made for the foundation by one of its partners, SCICON Sports. This Italian company manufactures specialist sports equipment. Ambassadors of the Foundation such as Monaco’s own Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc and Pierre Frolla, a four-time world record holder in freediving, have joined this #strongtogether campaign to remind everyone of the importance of wearing masks.