Princess Charlene marks first-ever Water Safety Day in Italy
- By Maria Lopez -
- Jun 18, 2026
Italy – Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco made a shining debut on the Viareggio waterfront on Wednesday 17th June 2026, where she joined some 50 schoolchildren for a special edition of its educational ‘Water Safety Day’.
This year, the event, organised by The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, took its stage beyond the Principality for the first time, reaching out to the shores of Italy on Bagno Flora Beach to promote awareness of drowning prevention.
The former Olympic swimmer and now Mongasque royal was beaming alongside local school children aged 8 to 14, taking part in workshops aimed at teaching life-saving skills.
Swimming in Open Waters: Focus on Teaching Rescue skills Working under the supervision of the Foundation Ambassador, Stéphanie Barneix, and Italian professional lifeguards, children engaged in first-aid workshops, taught by the Italian Red Cross,water safety exercises and participated in live rescue demonstrations by the Italian Coastguard and Italian Rescue Dog School (SICS).
The event sent out a timely message to start the summer season: just because someone can swim comfortably in a swimming pool doesn’t mean they know what to do when confronted by the realities of open water swimming.
The organisation emphasized the need for the new generation to understand how to adapt their swimming skills to the various currents, sea conditions and rivers they will encounter. ‘Behind every drowning there is a devastated family.
If you know how to swim and understand safety rules, the risk is greatly reduced.’ – HRH Princess Charlene of Monaco Preceding ‘The Crossing’ 2026 Water Safety Day serves as the kick-off to The Crossing 2026, (June 19th-20th), a highly challenging ultra-endurance race spanning 225 km which will be competed over water bikes from the Italian seaside town of Viareggio to the Principality’s Larvotto Beach.
The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation will be partnering the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation for The Crossing 2026 under the umbrella of the “Together Crossing for the Pelagos” initiative.
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Together the Foundations aim to address both the importance of educating people in Water Safety and promoting marine conservation in the Pelagos Sanctuary (established to protect marine mammals in this region of the Mediterranean).Since December 2012, over 2 million people across 45 countries have benefited from The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation’s investment in the “Learn to Swim” and “Water Safety” projects to prevent water related tragedies.