The values children learn early can shape the way they treat other people long after childhood is over. For Charlene, Princess of Monaco, that responsibility begins with teaching young girls and boys that respect for others must be learned, demonstrated and carried into adulthood.
Her observation places the responsibility for building a more respectful society firmly on education and upbringing. Rather than treating respect as an abstract ideal, the quote points to the everyday lessons children absorb about how they should view and treat others.
Who is Charlene, Princess of Monaco?
Born Charlene Lynette Wittstock on January 25, 1978, in Bulawayo, then Rhodesia, Charlene grew up in South Africa after her family moved there when she was 12. Her mother, Lynette, was a swimming instructor, and Charlene developed a passion for the sport at an early age.
Her career before royalty was defined by competitive swimming. She won the South African Championships in 1996 and represented South Africa at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, where her team finished fifth in the 4×100-metre medley relay. She also won medals at international competitions, including the 2002 Commonwealth Games. An injury eventually brought her competitive swimming career to an end in 2007.
Charlene met Prince Albert II of Monaco during a swimming competition in Monaco in 2000. The couple became engaged in 2010 and married in July 2011. They became parents to twins, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, in December 2014.
In December 2012, she established the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, whose work focuses particularly on drowning prevention, swimming education, water safety and the values associated with sport. The foundation says its programmes are designed to give children better opportunities while teaching discipline, teamwork and respect for oneself and others.
Quote of the day
“We need to instill the values that are important for future generations, and above all we have to show boys how to respect women.”
— Charlene, Princess of Monaco
The quote makes a simple but significant distinction: teaching children about respect is not only about telling them what is right, but demonstrating those values consistently as they grow.
Charlene specifically highlights boys and their attitudes toward women. The emphasis is on learning respect early, suggesting that ideas about equality, dignity and appropriate behaviour are part of a child's social development rather than something that should be addressed only in adulthood.
The first part of the statement, “instill the values”, also broadens the message beyond gender relations. Children learn values through parents, teachers, communities, friendships and the behaviour of adults around them. In that sense, respect becomes something that is modelled as well as taught.
For Charlene, the idea fits naturally with her broader emphasis on education and sport. Her foundation describes discipline, teamwork and respect for oneself and others as values that sport can teach children.
What does Charlene’s quote mean?
At its heart, the quote is about prevention through education. Teaching respect after harmful attitudes have already developed can be difficult. Charlene's words instead focus on childhood, when children are forming ideas about relationships, responsibility and how they should interact with other people.
The statement also places responsibility on boys to understand that respect for women is not optional or conditional. It is a value that should become part of how they behave.
Her message can therefore be read as a call to parents, educators and communities to make respect, empathy and dignity part of children's everyday learning, values that can potentially influence relationships well into the future.
More quotes by Charlene, Princess of Monaco
“Sport has given me drive and discipline. It also taught me to remain humble.”
“My foundation is based on helping children, and I hand-pick projects that are close to my heart and home.”
“I don't want to be a princess who sits on the sidelines; I want to be present and actively involved. It's a life with a purpose.”
“Some brides stress, some don't. I think I'm a serene bride.”
