PARIS (AP) — Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco announced Friday that they are expecting their first child, who will be heir to the tiny principality.
The 36-year-old South African former Olympic swimmer and her 56-year-old husband, whom she married in 2011, issued a statement expressing their "immense joy."
The short statement said the birth is expected before the end of the year. Although it did not elaborate, this implies that the princess is at least three months pregnant.
The news is sure to please the palace and end recent tabloid speculation that's dogged Charlene — why, after nearly three years of marriage to Albert, she had not yet provided an heir to the jet-set European principality. Britain's Kate Middleton became pregnant with Prince George around a year and a half after she married Prince William in April, 2011.
Until the baby is born, the throne of Monaco, a tiny fiefdom smaller than New York's Central Park, would pass to Princess Caroline, Albert's older sister. The constitution had been changed to allow Caroline a claim during Prince Albert's tenure because subjects were nervous he wouldn't produce an heir — after years of high-profile rendez-vous with the beautiful and famous, said to include Brooke Shields, Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell.
Albert has already acknowledged two children, born out of wedlock and thus excluded from the succession: his daughter Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, and his son Alexandre Coste.
Continue reading...
No comments:
Post a Comment