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Prince Albert Paternity Test

February 4, 2012 by · Comments Off on Prince Albert Paternity Test 

Prince Albert Paternity Test, 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.

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.

The French news agency Agence France Press said 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. “Even if a third or even a fourth child is confirmed Albert will not have an official heir until Princess Charlene bears him one,” he added.

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.

Other publications, including Voici, have suggested that Miss Coste could have had a second baby to the Prince. The 40-year old raised eyebrows on Thursday when she was pictured in Monte Carlo on the eve of the wedding.

But for all the background rumours Monaco still basked in glittering pomp and majesty.

Huge red and white flags, the colours of the principality, were draped from windows of the world’s second smallest state’s luxury high-rises, along with the colours of South Africa.

And Princess Charlene herself didn’t disappoint as her father walked her down the red-carpeted aisle of the palace courtyard, transformed into a vast, open-air cathedral.

There was a touch of Grace as she glided past the spectacular horseshoe-shaped staircase, inspired by the one in Fontainebleau Chateau near Paris.

Around 800 guests gave the 33-year-old South African a standing ovation as she walked slowly into the main courtyard in a spectacular veiled white silk dress with a five-metre train, preceded by a gaggle of bridesmaids.

Designed by Italian designer Giorgio Armani, the dress was studded in crystal and pearl, taking 2,500 hours to prepare.

The embroidery alone took 700 hours, and “kilometres” of platinum-coated thread were sewn into 130 metres of off-white silk.

It bore 40,000 Swarovski crystals, 20,000 mother of pearl teardrops, and 30,000 “stones in gold shades” arranged in floral patterns.

Albert wore the cream summer uniform of Monaco’s palace guards, its sleeves embroidered with oak and olive leaves and the front fastened with monogrammed golden buttons.

His chest was emblazoned with medals representing the Order of Saint Charles, the Order of Grimaldi and France’s Legion of Honour, while his rigid fabric cap bore a rosette representing the Crown of Monaco.

Adding to the sense of occasion were the presence of the Earl of Wessex, who wore a honorary white Royal Navy suit, his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and scores of celebrity guests.

To the strains of Johan Sebastian Bach, but also traditional South African songs, the royal couple were watched by the kings of Spain, Sweden, Lesotho and Belgium; the presidents of France, Iceland, Ireland, Lebanon, Malta, Germany and Hungary.

Household names on the guest list included Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, whose fashion house made the bride’s sky blue civil wedding suit. Also present were supermodel Naomi Campbell, dressed in green, American soprano Renee Fleming and former James Bond actor Sir Roger Moore in large dark glasses.

In a solemn ceremony, the couple was asked to take each other as husband and wife. Both said “oui”, no doubt to the immense relief of palace officials.

Seconds before, they had renounced Satan and proclaimed their Christian faith, while Charlene smiled as the archbishop referred to fidelity and forgiveness.

Prince Albert winked at his bride before sealing their marriage with a rather awkward kiss, prompting cheers from some 3,500 Monegasque subjects watching on a giant screen in a square outside.

Unlike the recent British royal wedding there were no horse-drawn carriages.

Instead, the newly-weds left the palace in an low-emission, open-top hybrid Lexus LS 600h L car — a nod to the Prince’s green convictions.

Monegasques remained philosophical about their latest royal addition, and clearly relieved their “eternal bachelor” prince, who had been previously linked to Miss Campbell, Gwyneth Paltrow and Brooke Shields.

“We’ve been waiting for so many years for him to get married but we never gave up hope,” said Christian Becker, 57, a financial consultant. “Monaco is a place full of rumour, but one mustn’t believe it all. I think they’re in love, they both love sport, are Anglophones and will make a great team.”

Miss Wittstock, who was born in Zimbabwe and moved to South Africa as a child, met Prince Albert during a 2000 swimming competition in Monaco.

He has been an International Olympic Committee member since 1985 and competed in five Winter Olympics as part of Monaco’s bobsleigh team.

Following the wedding service the new Princess shed tears as music played after she laid her bridal bouquet in Saint Dévote’s Chapel.

Later, the chef Alain Ducasse, whose restaurants command a combined 19 Michelin stars, served a Mediterranean-themed dinner at Monte-Carlo’s casino for about 500 guests, with everything but the champagne and South African wines sourced within six miles of Monaco.

To cap it all, some 200,000 tourists were treated to a spectacular fireworks display over the waters of Monaco Bay.

Monaco hopes the star-studded event will regild the fortunes of the low-tax haven, still struggling to recover from the financial crisis. Since 2008 tourism has fallen by 9 per cent in two years before picking up recently.

Takings at the casinos are down by 14 per cent.

Above all, the cosseted residents of this low-tax haven hope the new royal couple can keep the seven-century Grimaldi dream alive.

“A marriage brings us security for the succession,” said an 80-year-old retired casino manager. “Charlene’s very pretty, I just hope she adapts.

“We’re lucky to be Monegasque. We live the good life, protected jobs, no military service. It’s important to have a prince. With no prince there’s no principality,” he said.

Prince Albert And Charlene Dating Since 2005

February 4, 2012 by · Comments Off on Prince Albert And Charlene Dating Since 2005 

Prince Albert And Charlene Dating Since 2005, Aside from her obvious good looks, few of Monaco’s wealthy residents had cause to pay much attention to the tall, slender woman taking an afternoon stroll through the principality this week.

Dressed in white cotton trousers and a vivid purple T-shirt, she shared the confident air of many of the well-heeled ladies who populate this spectacularly wealthy corner of France.

Meanwhile, just a mile away, faced with claims that she had attempted to flee to her native South Africa just days before her wedding to Monaco’s ruler, Prince Albert, another willowy beauty, 33-year-old Charlene Wittstock, was staging a determinedly public walkabout with her fiancé.

Little would initially appear to link these two women.

Yet they are inextricably intertwined, for the lady enjoying Monaco’s warm afternoon sunshine only a stone’s throw away from that rather staged royal photocall was Nicole Coste, a former air stewardess who also happens to be the mother of Prince Albert’s illegitimate seven-year-old son, Alexandre.

Ms Coste, 40, does not live in Monaco — her main residential address is a plush apartment in Paris — and her presence in Monte Carlo this week certainly adds another intriguing dimension to a story with a number of tantalising elements.

Just days ago, a Parisian news magazine reported that Ms Wittstock had been stopped at Nice airport last week clutching a one-way ticket to South Africa after learning a ‘distressing’ revelation about her future husband’s private life.

A senior Monaco detective confirmed: ‘Charlene had her passport confiscated so that the Prince’s entourage could persuade her to stay.’

The rumour mill in France has been in overdrive ever since.

Charlene had, it was suggested, heard talk of another illegitimate child, conceived since she started dating Prince Albert in 2005, and who would bring his tally of children born out of wedlock to three — Albert also has a 19-year-old daughter, Jazmin Grace, courtesy of the American Tamara Rotolo.

More lurid gossip centres on the suggestion that Prince Albert has a lover who is pregnant with his child. Even more wildly, some are speculating that this could, once again, be Ms Coste.

One well-placed source told the Mail this week that Nicole and Prince Albert have remained close since the birth of their child, meeting regularly and speaking most days.

Prince Albert Met Charlene At Swimming Event

February 4, 2012 by · Comments Off on Prince Albert Met Charlene At Swimming Event 

Prince Albert Met Charlene At Swimming Event, Charlene, Princess of Monaco (French: Charlène; née Charlene Lynette Wittstock; born 25 January 1978), is the wife of Albert II, Prince of Monaco. She is also a former South African Olympic swimmer.

Charlene is the daughter of Michael and Lynette Wittstock. She was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to a family of German, English, South African, and Rhodesian descent. Her family relocated to the Transvaal, South Africa, in 1989 after living in Zimbabwe for several years. She represented South Africa at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, with her team finishing fifth in the Women’s 4×100 m Medley. She retired from competitive swimming in 2007.

Charlene met Prince Albert in 2000 at a swimming event in Monaco. They were first seen together in 2006, and she has accompanied Prince Albert on many of his official duties since then. They announced their engagement in June 2010 and were married on 1 July 2011.

Charlene met Albert II, Prince of Monaco, in 2000 at the Mare Nostrum swimming meet in Monaco. They were first seen together at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Charlene moved in with Albert in 2006. She accompanied him to the weddings of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, in 2010, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, in 2011.

Dual Cypher of Charlene and her husband
On 23 June 2010, the palace announced the engagement of Charlene and the Prince. Charlene, who was raised a Protestant, converted to Roman Catholicism, even though this is not a requirement of the Constitution of Monaco. The future princess was also instructed in the French language and the Monégasque dialect, and became familiar with European court protocol.

The wedding was originally scheduled for 8 and 9 July 2011 but was moved forward to prevent a conflict with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in Durban on 5-9 July. The couple had invited members of the IOC, including president Jacques Rogge, to their wedding. The couple attended the IOC meeting; hence Charlene’s first foreign visit as Princess was to her childhood home, South Africa.

During the week before the wedding, the palace was forced to deny reports that Charlene had been getting cold feet. French weekly L’Express reported that Charlene tried to leave Monaco on Tuesday, 28 June, after rumours surfaced that Albert had fathered a third illegitimate child. The report claimed Monaco police intercepted her at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport and confiscated her passport, and that it took “intense convincing” by Albert and palace officials for her to stay. The palace called the stories “ugly rumours” born out of jealousy.

The couple were married in a civil ceremony on 1 July 2011 at the Throne Room in the Prince’s Palace. The Nuptial Mass on 2 July was a lavish affair. Only days after the beginning of the couple’s honeymoon in South Africa, several newspapers from Spain, Britain and elsewhere reported that Charlene and Albert were not staying at the same hotel, but were in fact booked in different hotels several miles apart. These reports fueled rumours about the couple’s marital crisis that was sparked off even before their wedding.

As Monaco’s first lady, Charlene presides at the principality’s National Day celebrations, the Monaco Grand Prix, the Rose Ball (Bal de la Rose) held to raise funds for the Princess Grace Foundation, and the annual Red Cross Ball.

Princess Charlene is known for her elegant dress sense, patronising designers Akris and Armani. She wore a Giorgio Armani Prive design for her wedding dress, and attended the Akris show at London Fashion Week in October 2011.

Prince Albert Charlene Wittstock $65 Million Wedding

February 4, 2012 by · Comments Off on Prince Albert Charlene Wittstock $65 Million Wedding 

Prince Albert Charlene Wittstock $65 Million Wedding, Despite unsettling rumors swirling around Prince Albert of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock, the “other royal wedding,” believed to cost upwards of $65 million, is still on for this weekend.

The most glamorous, high-profile event in Monaco since the 1956 wedding of Albert’s late parents, Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly, kicks off Thursday night with a major concert by the Eagles free for all residents of the tiny principality.

Albert, 53, and his 33-year-old bride-to-be, a former Olympic swimmer from South Africa, will wed in a small civil ceremony inside the palace Friday and in a larger religious ceremony in the palace courtyard Saturday.

Wedding Dress a Secret
With more than 150,000 guests and well-wishers are expected to mob the postage-stamp-size principality, Wittstock’s dress, custom-made by her longtime friend Giorgio Armani, is being kept secret until the day of the ceremony.

Celebrated chef Alain Ducasse is making dinner for 500 guests. Electropop icon Jean Michel Jarre is overseeing a light and music spectacular at the harbor. Also planned: an elaborate fireworks display topped off by the lighting of 1,001 roses in the night sky over the Mediterranean.

Gerard Butler, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Naomi Campbell, fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld and Desmond Tutu are along the celebrities expected to attend the wedding, along with heads of state like president Nicolas Sarkozy of France and King Gustaf of Sweden.

Shooting Down Rumors
Earlier this week, palace officials and Albert’s lawyer angrily denounced claims by France’s well-respected L’Express magazine that inferred Wittstock wanted to stop the wedding and return to South Africa after learning about Albert’s allegedly less than “exemplary” behavior.

Albert’s longtime friend Stéphane Bern, France’s best-known commentator on the royals, said the rumors were scurrilous but also told Le Parisien in a strangely worded statement that it would be very easy for a woman “to pretend she is pregnant by the Prince. We can’t carry out a DNA test to check this out just three days before the marriage.”

Perhaps to quell the rumors, Albert and Wittstock toured various wedding event venues in Monaco on Wednesday, dressed casually and holding hands.

Dated Since 2005
Prince Albert, who has ruled Monaco since 2005, first met Wittstock at a 2000 swim event in Monaco, but they did not start dating seriously until 2005. She moved to an apartment at the palace four years ago.

Wittstock hinted at how challenging it was to wait for the prince to propose (he finally did last summer) in the new issue of Vogue, saying she had to endure loneliness and jealousy.

“It was sometimes overwhelming,” she said. “I was trying too hard to please too many people and at times was at risk of losing my sense of myself.”

Prince Albert & Charlene Wittstock

February 4, 2012 by · Comments Off on Prince Albert & Charlene Wittstock 

Prince Albert & Charlene Wittstock, Throughout the ceremony, which lasted an hour and a half, both bride and groom wore demure expressions, their eyes mostly downcast. Only as they took their vows and exchanged rings did the solemn facade crack: As they slipped on the 18 carat white gold Cartier rings onto each other’s fingers, Albert – in a white military uniform – shot her a wink, and Charlene cracked a broad, sincere smile.

The tears flowed freely down the new princess’ face after the ceremony, as she left her bouquet of lilies of the valley and other white blossoms at the Sainte Devote church – a tradition in Monaco.

With photographers shouting for the attention of the A-list guests as they streamed into the palace, the wedding had something of the flavor of a star-studded red carpet at the film festival in neighboring Cannes.

British actor Roger Moore, a longtime Monaco resident and a former James Bond, lent a touch of secret agent glamour. The carpet might as well have been a catwalk for British model Naomi Campbell and Czech supermodel Karolina Kurkova – or for Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, who cut a mean figure in his skintight suit.

Royal guests included the kings of Sweden and Belgium and Denmark’s crown princess. Prince Karim Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims, and Empress Farah Pahlavi, wife of Iran’s deposed shah, chatted with former French first lady Bernadette Chirac inside the palace.

The last guest to enter according to protocol, Sarkozy, elicited extensive applause and hoots of approval in what was likely the warmest welcome the French leader, whose popularity ratings hover at record lows, has received in a long time.

The most enthusiastic welcome was reserved for the bride and members of the Grimaldi family, one of Europe’s oldest dynasties. Albert’s sisters, Princesses Stephanie and Caroline, both looked fetching in their short taupe dresses, Caroline’s steely blue eyes hidden behind the oversized brim of her hat. Her daughter, Charlotte Casiraghi, was breathtaking in a pink off-the-shoulder cocktail dress by Chanel.

While Charlene – whose name is now officially written with an accent to give it a more French resonance – wore a blue ensemble of her own design to Friday’s civil ceremony, she opted for one of her longtime favorite designers, Armani, for Saturday’s wedding gown. The “petites mains” or seamstresses of his haute couture atelier put more than 2,500 hours of work into the dress, a strong-lined, made-to-measure concoction of more than 130 meters (about 140 yards) of different silks, 40,000 Swarovski crystals and 20,000 mother of pearl beads.

The 5 meter- (6 yard-) long train – which dwarfed the demure little train at the summer’s other royal wedding, that of Britain’s Prince William and Kate Middleton – proved difficult to negotiate. At one point, Charlene got stuck and Albert had to tug at the long silk flourish to free her.

The ceremony, officiated by Monseigneur Bernard Barsi, Archbishop of Monaco, included moving performances by U.S. soprano Renee Fleming and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, as well as a tradition “click song” by South Africa’s Pumeza Matshikiza – a nod to the princess’ roots.

After the ceremony, about 450 select guests tucked into a multi-course gala prepared by celebrated French-born chef Alain Ducasse.

Filet of golden mullet and a vegetable medley “arranged to portray a landscape typical of the coast of the Riviera,” according to a statement, was the main event at the three-course meal, where everything besides the South African wines and Champagnes were sourced from within a 10-kilometer (6-mile) radius of Monaco.

Ducasse, who like many in his tax bracket has taken citizenship in Monaco, is the first chef to earn three Michelin stars in three different cities, including three for his Louis XV restaurant in the principality.

Charlene was born in Zimbabwe, but moved to neighboring South Africa as a child, and under the tutelage of her mother, a swim coach, competed for that country at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Albert – also a former Olympic athlete, having competed in five Winter Olympics as part of Monaco’s bobsled team – has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1985.

Albert and Charlene met during a 2000 swimming competition in Monaco. She then began appearing regularly at social events and moved to Monaco in 2006. Residents say Charlene has since maintained a low profile and is rarely seen out and about in the principality.

The couple’s civil wedding on Friday was held in the palace’s sumptuous throne room where Rainier and Grace married. The actress died in a car crash nearly 30 years ago, and Monaco had been without a princess ever since.

Known as a notorious ladies man, Albert long eschewed marriage, and many in Monaco had resigned themselves to forever having a bachelor prince. The constitution was even modified to ensure the continuity of the Grimaldi line, in case Albert never produced an heir. The prince has acknowledged having fathered two children out of wedlock, but only his legitimate offspring would be able to succeed him.

Rumors have swirled in recent days that a third illegitimate child had surfaced – prompting Charlene to allegedly try to call off the wedding and return to South Africa days before the festivities.

The palace has denied the reports, dismissing them as “ugly rumors” prompted by spite and jealousy.

Charlene has told interviewers she would like to have children, and Archbishop Barsi asked those at Saturday’s ceremony to pray for the fecundity of the princely union.

“We just witnessed an important moment of love,” guest Michel-Yves Mourou said after leaving the palace. “I’m still under the spell of it. I’m happy for my prince and princess.”

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