Scummy Prince Albert of Monaco strikes again:
Getting a grip on his bride-to-be: Prince Albert keeps a grip on his fiancée
Former Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock, 33, 'tried to head home to South Africa on one-way ticket'
Monaco ruler drops legal battle to reveal source behind story
New lovechild claim may be made against prince 'within days'
Prince Albert can hardly be blamed for keeping a tight grip on his bride-to-be.
Faced with extraordinary claims that Charlene Wittstock had tried to run away home to South Africa only days before their £50million wedding, Monaco’s ruler took her on a tour of the principality.
The idea, apparently, was to show that the wedding festivities, due to start with a concert tonight and two lavish ceremonies on Friday and Saturday, are still on.
But a confidant of the prince stoked speculation about what led to Miss Wittstock supposedly being stopped at Nice airport trying to board a flight with a one-way ticket last week.
The 33-year-old former Olympic swimmer was said to have learned a distressing revelation about the prince’s private life. Stéphane Bern, France’s leading royal TV commentator and a close friend of 53-year-old Albert, suggested a woman could be claiming to be pregnant by the prince, whose notorious private life has already produced two illegitimate children.
He told Le Parisien newspaper: ‘A woman could very well be pretending that she is pregnant by the Prince. We can’t carry out a DNA test to check this out just three days before the marriage.’
Asked why Prince Albert had not issued a personal denial he replied: ‘A sovereign ruler is not going to lower himself to saying: “No, my fiancée did not want to leave me this weekend”.’
Wearing skinny black jeans, a white tunic,a pashmina and a black tasselled necklace, Miss Wittstock looked relaxed as she and the prince visited some of the installations being erected for their £50million wedding.
The walkabout came as it emerged that the 53-year-old royal threatened a legal battle to uncover the palace mole who threatened to destroy his big day.
Miss Wittstock, a former Olympic swimmer whose father was a photocopier salesman, is said to have been stopped by police at Nice airport as she tried to board a flight with a one-way ticket.
L’Express, the Paris news magazine which broke the story, was today standing by it – as Prince Albert’s legal team made no attempt to injunct it.
Instead it is demanding that L’Express reveals its sources – providing all of its evidence for the claim, although has not officially filed a lawsuit.
This is because Albert fears further revelations before Friday, when the eyes of the world will be on Monaco at the start of his nuptials.
In turn, L’Express editor-in-chief Renaud Revel confirmed that no attempt had been made to get the story removed from the magazine’s website.
Mr Revel, a highly respected author and investigative journalist, said he would make sure that the confidentiality of his sources was protected at all costs.
‘There had been all kinds of threats against us, but nothing has been filed in court and it won’t be,’ a source at the magazine added,
Colleagues at L’Express include Christophe Barbier, the editorial director, who is a close personal friend of French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.
‘These men are top class, hugely well connected journalists, and they know exactly what they’re writing about,’ said the source.
‘They have superb sources and would give them up to no one, not even an angry prince.'
‘Albert is desperate to find the palace mole because he fears further revelations. His lawyers are working overtime to try and find out who has been talking, but the truth is that the whole of Monaco is abuzz with rumours.’
Prince Albert has fathered two illegitimate children – six-year-old Alexandre, the son of Nicole Coste, a former Air France air hostess from Togo, and Jazmin, 19, whose mother is Tamara Rotola, an American estate agent.
In both cases, DNA tests were needed before Albert admitted he was the father, and agreed to pay for their upbringings.
The unspecified L’Express revelations are believed to relate to Albert’s tangled love life, but his lawyer Thierry Lacoste has described them as ‘madness’, adding: ‘Everything is false.’
Mr Lacoste confirmed he was taking legal action to uncover L’Express’s sources, adding: ‘I was with the Prince and Charlene Wittstock in Paris three days ago, and I can promise you that all is well.’
The extraordinary allegations emerged just two days before the extravagant three-day celebrations for the wedding are to start.
The guest list includes the Earl and Countess of Wessex, as well as President Nicolas Sarkozy, Naomi Campbell, Karl Lagerfeld, Giorgio Armani, Richard Branson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and business tycoon Philip Green.
The Eagles will perform at a concert to celebrate the wedding tomorrow and the civil ceremony takes place on Friday.
A religious ceremony will be held on Saturday in a 13th century church and will be attended by royalty from all over Europe. After that comes a white tie ball.
Now the royal wedding plans are at risk of being overshadowed by the astonishing claims.
But Albert, whose previous girlfriends have included Brooke Shields and Claudia Schiffer, has weathered such storms before.
A source in Monaco said: ‘Albert is absolutely furious about the latest claims and will be taking legal action against L’Express.
‘He’s had a turbulent private life, and doesn’t need this just a few days before his big day.’
An official statement from the palace said: ‘The Prince’s Palace firmly denies the allegations.
‘These rumours, spread a few days before the wedding ceremonies of H.S.H. Prince Albert and Miss Charlene Wittstock, have only one purpose – to seriously damage the Sovereign’s image and by consequence that of Miss Wittstock and to cause serious prejudice to a happy event.’ "
Poor Charlene, Im sure she found out more than the fact that he has illegitimate children. Its just now she has realized what nest of vipers she is about to live into. She saw his real face. Her life will be a nightmare...
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