Prince Albert & Princess Charlene of Monaco – Denying press rumours of an early split.

The first couple of the principality of Monaco are fighting against vicious rumours in the French based press that they are suffering personal problems early into their marriage after an alleged third love child of Prince Albert was discovered just before the royal wedding on 1st July 2011.  The royal couple have already filed legal papers against the French magazine “l’Express” denying the story. Let’s have a look at the astrology of the Monégasque couple.

Prince Albert was born in Monaco on 14th March 1958 at 10.47hrs & Charlene Wittstock was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe on 25th January 1978 (no birth time).

Prince Albert to me has a very troubling chart, certainly relationship wise. We see a Pisces Sun combined with a Capricorn Moon and a Gemini ascendant. I read once somewhere that Pisces people tend to fall into two distinct categories, big fish with sharp teeth who cruise the oceans in fear of no-one, and little fish who are weak so they follow other little fish in great big shoals hoping not to be gobbled up by the big fish. Prince Albert is a big fish. The Sun sits regally in the 10th house of work and reputation and the Capricorn Moon shows the need to administrate and run everything. In Monaco, Prince Albert has supreme power. Gemini ascendants question everything and the Prince will have his eye on the ball about all aspects of things going on in the Principality. In a partnership or marriage, they will be warm and bubbly, but the need for independence, friendship and interest in other men and women remains strong. Geminis cannot understand jealousy or possessiveness, in their eyes it is a natural thing to be interested in others. How far that interest goes is down to the other aspects in the chart. Mercury sits in the 11th house of friends and associations in Aries widely conjunct to the Sun. Albert will be forthright in speaking his mind, and will have a keen interest of politics and of joining associations and teams (see my comments on Jupiter below). With a trine to Uranus in the 3rd house, Albert will have a sharp and free thinking mind and an interest in technology of any kind. With the Moon and Mars in Capricorn in the 8th, Albert will be a hard worker, be interested in big finance and big business and will have a rather sombre demeanour, just as if he carries the world on his shoulders. In Monaco, he does.

Saturn sits in the the 7th house of relationships opposite to the ascendant and square the Sun. This square adds to Albert’s authority to rule but also reduces his self belief and makes him fearful of marriage and official partnerships. Saturn also trines to Pluto in the 4th house. The Sun Saturn square and the Pluto trine shows a difficult relationship with his father, Prince Ranier III. Pluto in the 4th shows a trapped childhood, one where the young Albert suffered a sense of shame and despair. It seems to me that as much as he had a unloved relationship with his father, there was a deep bond between himself and his mother, Grace Kelly shown by the tight conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune in the 5th house surrounding the North Node or parental axis. She would have been mystical in his eyes, generous and a real inspiration. With Mars conjunct to the Moon in the 8th house, she would have had a nasty temper with it and probably told the young Albert off in no uncertain terms if he did wrong. That temper would have carried through to Albert and he will react sharply if wronged in any way. Back to the fifth and Neptune and Jupiter square Mars. Jupiter here gives Albert a love of sports games and competition (he appeared in the Winter Olympics in bobsled in 5 consecutive games) and Albert is part of the International Olympic Committee. It also contributes a very risky attitude to love affairs. Neptune here means that he will have a dreamy, idealistic view to love – no girl will ever stack up as his “dream girl”, there will always be a better one around the corner. Hmm… The square to Mars in the 8th house from the Jupiter Neptune shows another reason for his roving eyes, sex. Mars in the 8th house does show an extremely powerful sex drive, even a compulsive obsession for it. He will try his upmost to keep these liaisons secret. We do know that Albert has already fathered 2 children out of wedlock, albeit we only know as the press found it out. The Jupiter/Neptune square to Mars combined with the Gemini ascendant sort of gives confirmation of the fact that fidelity with him could possibly be a problem in the future. The last major aspect on the chart I have yet to look at is a Venus Uranus opposition from Uranus in Leo in the 3rd house to Venus in Aquarius in the 9th. This makes a t-square with Neptune at the point. Relationships for the Prince, if you pardon the pun, will start and end with a bang! There will be almighty excitement and electricity in the initial meeting, but the novelty will soon wear off. Albert will be attracted to unusual and especially foreign women. With her Sun also in Aquarius linking the two ends of this opposition (Uranus rules Aquarius), Charlene Wittstock, would have fit the bill nicely as pressure mounted for the 53 year old Prince to have a legitimate heir.

Charlene as I said has an Aquarian Sun, cool but friendly in close conjunction to her Venus and opposite Mars in Leo. This is a very, kind hearted girl who desperately needs to be in a relationship. She needs her Prince to be alongside herself.  Mars in Leo wants a deep passionate, loving relationships; love and romance are endlessly fascinating for her. This is one competitive lady, wanting to win and be first at all costs. Mars in Leo wants to be the best, expects the best and will be hugely disappointed if she doesn’t get it. Venus in Aquarius is magnetically attractive (especially in women) and will need some space and independence within any union, friendships will be considered equally important as permanent relationships. The Moon also sits in regal Leo, she will love living and being in the spotlight and all the trappings that come with this type of life. The Moon makes a square to Uranus, so anything unusual or different will attract her attention. She will love and appreciate the excitement of spontaneous actions and deeds.

Mars makes a quindecile to Mercury in Capricorn. Here is a straight talking straight thinking position. Good at organisation, planning, strategy and with a quick mind and temper. Mercury makes a sextile to Uranus and a square to Pluto. Like the Prince, Charlene will have an interest in technology and will be free thinking. She also will have an interest of getting to the bottom of any problem, looking below the surface to uncover the truth. Charlene has a mini grand trine formation from the Moon in Leo trine to Neptune and with Pluto at the point. Neptune Moon shows a gentle side to Charlene, she will hate conflict and will look for the easy way out to keep everyone around her happy. Pluto at the point shows a dream for control and for power alongside being in the limelight.

The Moon could possibly be in conjunction with Saturn (if she was born at or after midday). This would indicate a difficult relationship with her mother, a swimming and diving coach, who no doubt would have been strict with her and would have pushed her hard. What we do know with Saturn retrograde, is that she never felt the love of her father for some reason. He was a sales manager, so maybe he was often away on business trips so she rarely saw him. Saturn makes a stabilizing sextile with Jupiter in Gemini. This steadies the outlook, makes the mind work overtime and gives her a broad international outlook, insatiable curiosity, good common sense and a realization that success comes through hard work and graft rather than through luck alone. Saying that, Charlene in marrying her Prince became one of the luckiest women on the planet as she married one of the world’s most eligible bachelors.

Now what of their synastry and combined charts. The synastry chart sees Charlene’s Sun/Venus conjunction connecting nicely with Albert’s Venus and Mars (they are just in wide conjunction) which is loving, kind and shows that the two are good friends. One worry is that this conjunction is opposite his Uranus – will (as I mentioned earlier) his excitement for this relationship fizzle out or will the sparks continue to fly? There certainly is an electric attraction from him to her. The Venus/Mars/Sun connections come in Albert’s international 9th house, very apt as their relationship allegedly began abroad at an Olympic games in Torino, Italy. Mars opposes Mars which is hugely competitive, they will compete for top dog status, and fight like cat and dog if they disagree. Charlene’s Mars squares Albert’s Jupiter, so she will push him to broaden his horizons. There seems to be good communication between them both with Albert’s Mercury sextile Charlene’s Sun and a conjunction between his Mercury and her Moon. A couple of other things to think about. His Jupiter/Neptune conjunction squares her Sun/Venus. This is on the face of it a positive combination of planets, dreamy, expansive, imaginative. I only hope that the Prince’s Neptune which is very strong as it is personalized (as he is a Sun Pisces), doesn’t try to deceive her into thinking that all is ok while he is playing behind her back. Her Saturn sits on his Pluto which can be depressing and frustrating between the two, a sort of battle for control. Her Jupiter sits opposite his Saturn, so her optimism will complement his serious outlook position.

Ok now to the long term composite chart. This looks a bit more stressful. We have A Sun Mercury conjunction (good for communication) opposite Jupiter giving an optimistic outlook. However this opposition is square to Neptune. Here is a definite problem as Neptune square Sun and Neptune square Mercury can bring deceit, deception and confusion. Their can be lying and dreams can be shattered.

There is also a trine from Sun Mercury to a Mars/Saturn/ Moon conjunction. This is quite difficult in all respects. Saturn Moon stops the flow of emotion, Mars Saturn can put up an emotional barrier between the two. Hopefully the good communication of the Sun Mercury can alleviate this. Mars/Moon can be excitable and emotional, good while the relationship is going well but sheer hell if things go wrong, you can imagine the emotional battles. The sextiles from this combination to Jupiter are optimistic, sensible, and generally good fun. The initial attraction between the two is highlighted in the Venus/Moon square, here is a strong and lasting attraction between the two.

Ok what do we think. In truth I think the charts of the two are quite good in comparison. There is an attraction between the two and Princess Charlene will thrive on in being in the spotlight, she will love it. If anyone is a problem, then it will be the Prince. He has a tendency to get bored with long term relationships as the charts show, and as we know he has a history of being a bit secretive in his relationships. If they can keep their feet on the ground and realise that they both have to work at it and compromise, I believe there is enough here to make a workable marriage. There is not the stunning synastry between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and so not the same affection and magnetic ties. Nethertheless, it is not as bad as many make it out to be. I think the first test acid of this marriage will come in 2017 as transiting Saturn squares their composite Pluto/Uranus conjunction. Only then will we know if their relationship is strong enough to last the test of time.  

The Royal Wedding – William and Kate tie the knot.

In what was a rather lovely and flawless ceremony, Prince William and Kate Middleton were married this morning at Westminster Abbey in London. They were declared man and wife at 11.21hrs. Looking at the wedding chart we have a full 10th house with naturally the royal Sun sitting in the house of duty and authority and Leo sitting on the Ascendant square to the Sun reflecting the pomp and ceremony and privilege they will have. The main feature of the chart is a heavyweight t-square based around a progressive forward thinking Aries Midheaven.  On the IC just in the 3rd house lies Saturn, giving a serious edge to the day and the union, they will think carefully about their union and also about any words and media and social commitments that they make, very much a legacy hanging over from William’s mother Diana who courted and as a result was pursued endlessly by the press. Saturn is opposite Mercury in the 10th house; this is a couple who will be very conscious of their image as future King and Queen. As Mercury is in Aries, this vision is progressive and fresh will push forward I believe a new informality to the Royal family while respecting the traditions of the past.

Alongside the Sun and Mercury is Mars and Jupiter. Here is a drive to touch as many people’s lives as possible and this is something the happy couple will do with gusto, not only in the UK but abroad too. As part of a great stellium of planets in Aries is Venus and Uranus in the 9th house. The Moon is also in the 9th house as well in mystical Pisces. Venus opposite Saturn conjunct the Midheaven shows a serious social event but also the colour and beauty of the day. Venus here instils a love of travel and William and Kate will travel extensively as a result. Uranus in the 9th is interesting. This is a break with traditions and belief and forging new directions. Uranus is trine to the Ascendant, so the public face of William and Kate will be as reformers.

The Moon in the 9th again highlights travel with a sympathetic nature, of exploring new cultures and peoples. The Moon is quindecile Saturn, so expect a lot of travel and and reserved shows of emotion, in public at least, this is going to be very much a working couple. Square to the Saturn/Mercury Venus Uranus conjunction is Pluto in the 6th house. Here Pluto is obsessed with work, health and daily routine. The royal couple will work to exhaustion in the cause of their Royal duties, and may in time be quite difficult to serve, being harsh with those beneath them. Pluto trines to the Sun reflecting the power of their new positions in life.

Finally we find Neptune, peregrine in the 8th house of change and inheritance. William and Kate will in time inherit the dream and the mystique and magic of the monarchy. Neptune will dominate the chart standing alone in Pisces. This is a very spiritual position and reflective of service. This is the overriding theme of the chart, service through the privileged position that they inherit.

Now the all important question, what does the future hold? Well by Solar Arc we have Saturn opposing the Midheaven in exactly one year which is quite sorrowful, maybe a loss in their extended family of some sort. However with Venus exactly three degrees from the Midheaven I can see a happy event in around three years time -  a baby perhaps?? The t-square will be activated by Pluto in 2015 when transiting Pluto squares the Midheaven in 2015. The marriage and their public face will be transformed in some way, possible moving up the line of succession?

The wedding chart in my eyes has all the hallmarks of a successful royal marriage with pomp and circumstance, duty and service, mystique and magic and the notion of an ideal with Mercury conjunct Venus at the Midheaven of how the Monarchy should look when they succeed to the throne.

Good luck and lots of love to them both.

Prince William and Kate Middleton – An astrological study of the royal couple in waiting.

Here in the UK, we seem to have a very relaxed attitude this time around to the wedding of William and Kate Middleton in a couple of weeks time. Maybe the current mood in the UK reflects the relationship of the happy couple to be? What do the stars have in store for them? Let’s take a look…

Although we only have a confirmed birth time for William and not Kate, luckily after looking at the potential time that Kate could have been born at on 9th January 1982, it does not make too much of a difference to the synastry and combined charts for them both.

Prince William is only 5 months younger than Kate so the compared charts for the two are very similar in respect of the outer planets. Looking at the faster moving planets from the Sun through to Saturn, the relationship between the two is rather lovely. William is a New Moon Cancerian, so very emotional and security conscious and his Sun and Moon are complemented nicely by Kate’s serious Capricorn Sun and her Moon also in Cancer. Emotionally they are in tune and when William does worry as Cancerians invariably do, then Kate will keep his feet on the ground. William has a very chatty, on the go Mercury in Gemini. He will always want to keep up with the latest news and his brain is very restless, flitting from one subject to the next. Kate’s Mercury in cool technical Aquarius is in trine aspect. Both Mercurys are in air signs, so this couple will forever be chatting, picking each other’s brains for ideas; with Kate’s Mars trine William’s Mercury there will plenty of lively debate between the two. In relationships, communication is key to long term success and William and Kate will never have problems in this side of things.

Kate’s Mercury and Venus sit together in Aquarius. Venus in Aquarius often conveys film star looks especially to women and Kate certainly has star quality fizzing out of her, a sort of cool unapproachable yet hugely kind and sympathetic appeal. Her Venus is in trine aspect to William’s Mars, the classic Venus/Mars combination of the star struck lovers. This is an easy going romantic love between them and they will be very comfortable in each other’s company. With Mars conjunct Mars with one degree of each other, they will push each other forward in their respective goals and projects. The only slight problem on the synastry chart is a “potential” square between Kate’s Moon and William’s Saturn. His duties will put a dampener on her emotional state. If Kate was born between around 10.00 and 14.00, then her Moon conjuncts William’s north node, a sort of fated connection – almost like that they were always meant to be together. All in all, the match between them is remarkably relaxed and easy going, and the mood of the British public can be seen in the relaxed vibe they send out.

Looking more long term, I move to the composite chart. Here the lack of a birth time does not affect the overall look of the chart radically – I have looked the the possibilities of Kate being born from early morning to late at night. Over time couples change, their priorities differ as they get older and the composite chart can show how any tensions may play themselves out over the course of the relationship. This composite chart is very interesting.

The thing I notice immediately is a powerful t-square between Sun Mercury opposite Mars squaring onto the Moon at the point of the t-square. The Sun Mercury reflects the synastry chart in that there will always be good communication between William and Kate and there is love and friendship with Sun Mercury in conjunction to Venus. The square to the Moon and more pointedly the opposition to Mars indicate plenty of energy that will drive on the relationship. The Sun Moon square can be tricky and troublesome and is often seen in the chart of people infatuated with each. The addition of Mars in the mix will mean that when there is a disagreement there will be a full on shouting match, however the resentment will not last. Mars is able to forgive and forget quite easily.

Composite Mars is conjunct Saturn which is at the best frustrating. It’s almost like when one is hot, the other is cold. When one wants to act, the other doesn’t. Kate and William over time may work at cross purposes to each other and this is something they will have to adjust to, giving each other enough space to compensate for their differing moods and desires. One other problem on the horizon is the quindecile between Pluto and Sun/Mercury. This indicates a power struggle behind the scenes. Remember one day William will be King, however the one with her feet firmly on the ground will be Kate. Capricorns by their very nature being ruled by Saturn like to have authority and to run things. Will serious Kate try to run things from behind the scenes? Taken to extremes, an opposition between Pluto and the Sun can lead to all out warfare if a relationship does break up. Now I am not saying that this will happen for sure, however the possibility of an intense power struggle over time does exist. Pluto widely conjuncts Jupiter which suggests growth. The longer they can stay together, the more they will benefit from the union, in understanding and wisdom. The composite chart also does show an electric attraction between the two with Venus in trine aspect to Uranus. This is the spark that brought them together, the moment when Kate walking down the catwalk at a fashion show caught William’s eye, and forever that attraction will remain between them.

All synastry and composite charts have good and bad points and the essence of a marriage is to adapt, to change and grow with your partner. What I can say is that there is great communication, attraction and love between them and if they can resist the temptation to step on each others shoes in their very public roles in the future, then this marriage to be has a very real chance of being a successful one.

When the marriage does take place and we have an official time, I will add to this post by looking at the marriage chart.

Prince William – born 21st June 1982 in London at 21.03

Kate Middleton – born 9th January 1982 in Reading, Berkshire – as yet no birth time.

 

********   Click this link to see the Royal Wedding Chart   **********

Prince Andrew – Making the wrong choices again

Prince Andrew is back in the news again. Every so often, the Prince’s questionable decision making comes back into the spotlight, often for the wrong reasons. True, the royal family do live under an unusual spotlight, however his judgement in the character of people with whom he associates himself has always been a flaw in his character, from flirting with “erotic” actress Koo Stark to his marriage and divorce with Sarah Ferguson (I will look at her chart in the future), to the latest batch of “unusual” associations in the roles as British Trade ambassador, ones which include Jeffrey Epstein, the US financier jailed for sex offences, being friends with Saif Gaddafi (the outspoken son of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi) as well as convicted Libyan gun smuggler Tarek Kaituni and Sakher al-Materi, a leading member of the former Tunisian regime.

Prince Andrew is a Sun sign Pisces (just by 9 mins) with his Moon in deep hidden Scorpio. This very watery combination is in square aspect, Prince Andrew will always feel in a state of flux and his emotions will feel at odds with with his overall person and his desires. What will always hold him back in my view is that Moon in Scorpio in the 4th house, a very strong attachment to his family, his royal duties and to his mother. The Sun in the murky 8th house hints that he does have a very big interest in dealing with the business of economics of other people’s money, especially as this Sun receives an opposition from Pluto in the 2nd house. This is a “magnetic” interest in big finance, but it  hints at a more secret seedier side to the Prince’s personality that has stayed out of the spotlight, until quite recently through the press reports. Also in the 8th house we find Mercury. Mercury is trine Saturn in Capricorn which supports his interest in administration and trade and he will work hard for sure in this role but every so often, that wandering mind will go off on a tangent and his resulting actions will get him in trouble. This is compounded by a complete lack of air in his chart. As such he will over-compensate for the lack of Air by being too eager to please, networking and making contacts without clearly thinking of the potential consequences. 

Looking at the rest of the chart, Andrew likes to be seen as an individual and a bit of a risk taker. Uranus in the first house in Leo shows that he likes to make a dramatic statement, not easy living to achieve in the goldfish bowl that is the royal family. Jupiter in the fifth house is generous and fun loving, he likes to take risks including emotional ones. He will be attracted to unusual, talented people with a strong personality, (Uranus in Leo square Moon in Scorpio) and will want as much as possible to keep these relationships under the radarscope. There is a big generosity to Andrew’s character, he will be very giving to his two daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie. Venus and Mars sit together in Capricorn in the sixth house. This is never an easy position, this conjunction makes the subject rather forward in coming forward, especially in romantic situations; the Prince will always be the one making the first move. This prince has a “can do” attitude, will be assertive Mars in the 6th house and will not suffer slackness in anyone, he likes to be the one in command and has a positive attitude to physical fitness and working out. I imagine he would have thoroughly enjoyed his time in military service.

Having a Sun at 0 degrees Pisces, transiting Neptune is just one degree now from directly hitting Andrew’s Sun/Pluto opposition. It is no surprise that his trade dealing and all that go with them is in the spotlight right now. In Neptunian terms, there is a cloud of suspicion hanging over him. Saturn transiting through his 3rd house is square his natal Saturn, so lessons being learned through press reports (3rd) and through government criticism (Saturn) of his everyday work (6th house). Transiting Uranus is square natal Jupiter, these are reports about unusual (Uranus) international (Jupiter) relationships (7th), some of a sleazy nature (8th) - note that Uranus rules the 7th & 8th house through Aquarius on the cusp of both. These transits are mirrored in the Solar Arc aspects, SA Jupiter opposite Uranus, SA Neptune sextile Sun, SA Pluto has been opposite his Midheaven hurting his public profile and SA Saturn is square Prince Andrew’s Pluto so difficult times for him this year, as Scorpio ruled by Pluto is intercepted in the 4th house of home, his mother the Queen will not be amused.