- Princess Charlene returned home and posed with Prince Albert and their twins earlier this week, though reports of a royal split persist.
- Tabloids have since reported the royal may not be staying at the palace with the prince following her return after months in South Africa.
- Sister-in-law to the princess, Chantell Wittstock, tells Channel24 exclusively: "The princess is extremely happy to be back home with her family. She will be staying with her husband and children."
Princess Charlene returned home to Prince Albert and her twins earlier this week after months of apart.
The former Olympic swimmer had been staying in South Africa since May after contracting an ENT infection. Following multiple procedures, the royal was rushed to hospital after "suddenly collapsing" in September just as she was about to return home, further fuelling rumours of a royal split from the reigning monarch. However, October saw the princess undergo her final procedure.
"Happy day today," she wrote as she held Albert close in a photo shared upon her return to Monaco, with their two children, Princess Gabrielle and Prince Jacques, standing before them.
Reports have persisted, however, of trouble in paradise for the royal couple.
On Thursday, the Mail Online published a story suggesting Charlene may not return to living with her husband, and will instead stay in a modest two-bedroom apartment above an old chocolate factory.
They quoted Chantell Wittstock, Princess Charlene's sister-in-law and the director of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation in South Africa, as saying it is "unclear" whether the princess will be living full-time in the Palace.
Channel24 has since reached out to the charity director, who is married to the princess' brother Sean Wittstock. She's refuted the claims made in the article, that seemingly also addressed rumours of a royal split.
"I absolutely did not tell the Daily Mail that the princess might not stay at the palace with the prince," she said.
Wittstock shared how the royal is feeling now that she's returned to Monaco – and commented on her living arrangements.
"The princess is extremely happy to be back home with her family," she said, reiterating: "She will be staying with her husband and children."