She’s a published author, model, equestrian, academic, business owner and Grace Kelly’s granddaughter. The last title is the one she shuns. Charlotte Casiraghi is no royal, even though her mother is Princess Caroline, daughter to Grace Kelly and Monaco’s Prince Rainier III. But she grew up away from the glare of the public eye with her mum giving her the chance to live a normal life after her father, Stephano Casiraghi, died. Avoiding the spotlight continues to be a deliberate act on her part, with Charlotte explaining in a 2019 interview with Hola that every member of the royal family has had “malicious words or judgements” thrown at them. Is Princess Caroline replacing Princess Charlene as Monaco’s first lady? She said she was given the chance to choose her life, not have it pre-conditioned by title and lineage. And for that she is forever grateful. Here’s how Charlotte made her life her own… I’m not a princess. My mother is, not me Charlotte Casiraghi She doesn’t consider herself a royal Despite being the granddaughter of Grace Kelly and her own mother having the title of Princess Caroline, Charlotte has shied away from the royal titles. In an interview with Vogue Paris she said, “I’m not a princess. My mother is, not me.” The distance from the royal family is put down to Caroline keeping her children out of the spotlight growing up. After the death of Caroline’s husband and Charlotte’s father, Stefano Casiraghi, during a boating accident in October 1990, Caroline moved the family out of the public eye. They lived in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, a village in Provence, France. According to Vanity Fair, Charlotte went to public schools and none of her classmates knew of their heritage. Why will Camilla be queen when Prince Philip wasn’t a king? The equestrian affair Vanity Fair reports that while growing up in the small town, Charlotte developed a love of horse riding. It was when she was 12 and her aunt Princess Stephanie bought her a horse called Emilie that she really embraced a life as an equestrian. She entered the competitive show jumping world and, in a 2013 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, said horses gave her energy and presented her with a confidence she never had before. Academia and fame Charlotte grew up with a love of horses and the books. She completed a bachelor of arts in philosophy in 2007 and later cofounded a magazine, Ever Manifesto , which evaluated the environmental impact of the fashion industry. In 2015, she started Les Rencontres Philosophiques de Monaco with her professor Robert Maggiori, an organisation that hosts talks and events with well-known thinkers and earned Charlotte the title of “princess philosophy”. The two even published a book, Archipel des Passion, about the meaning of life as seen through conversations between a teacher and his student. Her brains, combined with her looks and royal lineage, soon made her hot property and Charlotte was asked to be a model. In 2010 she modelled Gucci’s equestrian line, and her face was regularly seen in fashion spreads for Vogue Paris and Vanity Fair France. Princess Cristina of Spain’s turbulent life, from divorce to losing a title The big white wedding It was when Charlotte married producer Dimitri Rassam, son of the well-known model Carole Bouquet, that the attention around her gained momentum. She has two children, Raphael Elmaleh and Balthazar Rassam. Raphael’s father is Gad Elmaleh, a well-known comedian based in France. Balthazar was born in 2018 is regularly seen by his mum’s side. At the wedding, she wore a couture Chanel gown and Cartier necklace owned by her famous gran, Grace Kelly. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Charlotte Casiraghi (@charlottecasiraghi) In 2020 it was announced she would be an ambassador for Chanel, with Charlotte saying she was “born with Chanel”, before explaining that when mum was pregnant with her, she was wearing Chanel. Want more stories like this? Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .