If you're experiencing Royal Wedding withdrawal symptoms, fear not. On July 2 Prince Albert of Monaco will finally be tying the knot. The 53-year-old playboy prince, who has been linked to a long list of models and actresses like Claudia Schiffer, Angie Everhart and Brooke Shields, is settling down with Charlene Wittstock, a willowy blonde who swam for South Africa at the Sydney Olympics. The two met when Wittstock traveled to Monaco for a swimming competition in 2000 and has lived in the tiny principality since 2006.It will be the first marriage of a reigning Prince since his father, Prince Rainier III married his mother American actress Grace Kelly in 1956. Princess Grace died in a car accident in 1982.
Albert, who is soft spoken and speaks with a slight stammer, ascended the throne when his father died in 2005. A few days before he was crowned, Albert acknowledged that he was the father of a 22-month-old boy, Alexandre, whose mother was a former Air France flight attendant from Togo.
The French weekly Paris Match had published a lengthy interview with Alexandre's mother, Nicole Coste in which she said that she was living in the Prince's Paris apartment and received an allowance while posing as the girlfriend of one of his pals. The interview also included photos of the Prince holding and feeding his son.
The next year Albert acknowledged yet another out-of-wedlock child, a 14-year-old California girl named Jazmin. Her mother, Tamara Rotolo, had filed a paternity suit in U.S. courts back in 1992 and under deposition Albert conceded he had been with her on "a couple of occasions," nine months before Jazmin was born.
In May 2006 after DNA tests confirmed that Albert was indeed the father, he finally admitted it and then invited his daughter to study and live in Monaco.
Prince Albert's two sisters' love lives have been equally tumultuous. Big sister Caroline was tragically widowed with three young children. She eventually had an affair with a friend's husband, Prince Ernst of Hanover a hot-headed German who has been caught urinating publicly and convicted of brawling. Little sister Stephanie who had a high profile romance with Rob Lowe married her bodyguard and had two children by him. She had a third child but has never revealed who the father is. She had an affair with a married elephant trainer and traveled with a circus and then had a brief marriage to another circus performer.
Under the current constitution, neither offspring have a claim to the throne because they are not legitimate. After Rainier died the question of succession gained urgency because prior to 2002 the law specified that only the last reigning prince's "direct and legitimate" descendants could inherit the crown. Clearly nervous about Albert ever settling down, a new law was enacted that allowed the crown to be passed down to the reigning prince's siblings and their descendants. Therefore right now Albert's older sister Caroline and her eldest son Andrea are next in line.
The couple recently gave an interview to a German television show and when asked about the subject of children the 33 year old Wittstock was eager to reply.
"Can I answer that?" she asked her fiancee before saying, "I personally want to have children. I love children, and I simply can't wait to have a family of my own." Albert quickly added, "I agree!"
The ceremony will take place in the Palace courtyard which was chosen because it holds 800 people, 300 more that Saint Nicholas Cathedral where his parents wed. Giorgio Armani will be designing the wedding gown and they will be ferried around in eco-conscious Lexus cars, a nod to Albert's continuing support and interest in green causes.
They also want to share the nuptials with "their fellow citizens," so there will be dozens of concerts and lights shows all open to the public using the stunning beauty of the Riviera as a backdrop.
Source: http://www.popeater.com/2011/06/21/prince-albert-charlene-wittstock-monaco-wedding/
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