04 July,2011 07:17 AM IST | | Agencies
Prince Albert II of Monaco faces a paternity test after his wedding to Charlene Wittstock following claims that he has fathered a third child out of wedlock, officials have confirmed.
The wedding was a glittering affair, the likes of which have not been seen since Prince Rainier III married Hollywood icon Grace Kelly in Monaco more than half a century ago.
Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II arrive for a dinner at Opera terraces after their religious
wedding ceremony in Monaco on Saturday
Amid the splendour of the Mediterranean principality's Italian Renaissance palace Prince Albert of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock, the former Olympic swimmer, had their marriage blessed in a Roman Catholic service on Saturday.
Among the guests at the ceremony, which followed a civil service on Friday, were crowned heads of Europe, heads of state and celebrities there to see Miss Wittstock, the daughter of a South African photocopier salesman, became Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene de Monaco.
But as the couple took their vows, Prince Albert's colourful past threatened to overshadow the proceedings.
It has now been revealed that, following the couple's civil ceremony, a senior palace official confirmed rumours that Prince Albert is likely to undergo the test after claims that he has fathered a third child.
Anonymous officials spoke of "the truth" of a reported falling out between the couple earlier in the week and of a probable demand that Prince Albert take a paternity test.
Albert already has a six-year-old son, Alexandre, through a former Togolese air hostess, Nicole Coste, and a 19-year-old daughter, Jazmin, with Tamara Rotola, an American estate agent.
Despite the development, none of Albert's illegitimate children will have a claim to the throne under Monaco law, a source said.
The French magazine, Public, has claimed that Prince Albert fathered "two new illegitimate children", saying one is understood to be 18 months old and the son of an Italian woman who is preparing to take her story to the press.
2
Number of known illegitimate children of Prince Albert 11 ufffd a six-year-old son, Alexandre, through a former Togolese air hostess, Nicole Coste, and a 19-year-old daughter, Jazmin Grace with Tamara Rotola, an American estate agent
