The flags are out, the fireworks are primed and the dress is under wraps – but it took an ugly rumour of a threatened split to put the Monaco royal wedding on the front pages on Wednesday. Prince Albert II is due to marry statuesque South African swimming champ Charlene Wittstock on Friday in a festival of princely pomp, hoping to save his realm by finally providing it with a legitimate heir. The 53-year-old former playboy has had children with two previous lovers, but if he cannot procreate within matrimony the Grimaldi clan will be forced to cede Monaco to France and lose a territory they have held since 1297.
All appeared to be going to plan. Charlene’s blonde locks, high cheekbones and impressively broad shoulders have graced the covers of magazines and celebrity guests are converging on the Mediterranean enclave. The wedding was never going to compete with Britain’s marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton – now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – and the Monaco brand was looking due for a rejuvenating shot in the arm.
But the celebrity press gives, and it takes away. On Tuesday, reports surfaced of a royal falling out. Charlene, it was said, had learned a dark secret about her stocky, balding partner and flown the coop. The 33-year-old was reported by L’Express magazine’s website and a slew of blogs and Twitter postings as having sought a one-way ticket home to South Africa, only to be intercepted in Nice and returned to her gilded cage. Prince Albert of Monaco has been forced to issue a public statement after claims that his fiancée tried to leave him days before their wedding after learning of his third illegitimate child.
A lawyer for Prince Albert vigorously denied the claims, described the story as “madness.” The allegations emerged just two days before the three-day celebrations for the wedding are to start. They are expected to cost around £50million.
