Prince Albert of Monaco says it wasn't love at first sight for him and Princess Charlene

While we may have grown up reading fairytales about princesses and princes falling in love the moment they meet, a real life royal couple has revealed it isn't all as dreamy as it seems.

Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco first met in 2000 at the Mare Nostrum International Swimming Meet in Monaco, but in a recent interview with Paris Match, Albert shared that it wasn't exactly love at first sight.

"I don't know if we fell in love back then," Albert said of the first time he met his now wife. "You know, after that, I didn't see Charlene again for several years."

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Even though he may not have fallen in love then and there, Albert says Charlene definitely still left a good impression.

"I thought that she was an excellent swimmer and that she was friendly, cheerful, and approachable," he said of Charlene, a former Olympian. "We had a great time."

It wasn't until five years later that the two started dating, and then another year before they went public with their relationship.

Charlene and Albert made their first official outing as a couple at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy.

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By 2010, the couple had announced their engagement, sharing the news with a romantic photoshoot in the courtyard of their palace, Palais Princier de Monaco.

Charlene's stunning engagement ring was estimated to cost around $90,000 AUD, hence why the Princess is rarely seen wearing it during her day-to-day duties.

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Rumours of a rift growing between the couple began to plague them and have continued to ever since, however Charlene and Albert have constantly denied that they have any issues within their relationship.

"I simply cannot understand where they come from," Charlene once told OK of the rumours. "It feels to me like certain media or people want to see us split."

The couple tied the knot at the beginning of July 2011 at the Prince's Palace of Monaco and now share two children, twins Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques.

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