By Peter Allen


All smiles: Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II of Monaco step out at the Oyster Box Hotel, where they were due to stay, but it has now been claimed the couple slept ten miles apart during their honeymoon


Further embarrassment has been heaped on Prince Albert of Monaco after claims his new wife spent their honeymoon sleeping 10 miles away in a separate hotel.

It follows the news that Albert, 53, and his 33-year-old bride of one week returned home early from their South Africa holiday so he can undertake DNA tests as part of a possible multi-million-pound paternity claim.

In turn, reports of the tests prompted Charlene, a former Olympic swimmer, to try and 'escape' the Mediterranean enclave three times before their glittering marriage.


Now City Press, the third biggest selling newspaper in South Africa, has stirred up the scandal by providing astonishing revelations about their first trip as man and wife.

'It was supposed to be their fairytale honeymoon in Africa, but Princess Charlene slept alone in a bedroom 16km from her prince,' wrote journalist Gavin Prins.

The couple were expected to be staying in a £4,000-a-night suite at the luxurious Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga Rocks, near Durban.

Billionaire Albert was said to have booked the President's Suite, set on two floors with an ornate-leafed bed, its own swimming pool and a freestanding marble bath overlooking the Indian Ocean.

Awkward? Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II of Monaco put on a show by kissing each other during their honeymoon in South Africa


But Mr Prins reported that Charlene in fact stayed all alone in a cheaper suite, while Albert went off to sleep 10 miles away.

He wrote: 'It has been confirmed by hotel spokesperson Joanne Hayes that Princess Charlene stayed in the Buthelezi suite… Prince Albert stayed at the Hilton Hotel in Durban.'

The report even suggested that when the couple 'met President Jacob Zuma they arrived in the same car but left in two separate vehicles'.

Miles apart: Princess Charlene stayed at the Oyster Box Hotel, while Prince Albert was at the Hilton Hotel in Durban

Plush: Princess Charlene is said to have stayed at The Oyster Box Hotel, where the couple were supposed to have their honeymoon, alone

Urban: Prince Albert is said to have moved to the Hilton Hotel, in Durban, which is 10 miles away from where his wife slept


Mr Prins added: 'When photographers urged the royal couple to kiss, it was another of those awkward moments - Charlene turned her head away and Prince Albert ended up giving her a peck on the cheek.

'Pictures of Charlene taken this week showed an unhappy woman who rarely smiled. The only time she showed real delight was when Archbishop Desmond Tutu hugged her.

'Charlene and Albert cut short their South African stay on Friday, citing urgent business in Monaco as their reason.'

Results of the DNA tests were not released during the couple's South Africa honeymoon because Charlene could have refused to return to Monaco if they pointed towards Albert having been unfaithful.

Comforting: Princess Charlene shared a moment with South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu during a visit in Cape Town during her honeymoon

Meet and greet: Princess Charlene also met children during several organised trips during her honeymoon in South Africa


Albert has a six-year-old son named Alexandre through Togolese former air hostess Nicole Coste, and a 19-year-old daughter, Jazmin, with Tamara Rotolo, an American estate agent.

Now at least one other woman is expected to claim she too has an illegitimate son with Albert - and, like Ms Coste and Ms Rotolo, she wants millions to help her bring the child up.

A constitutional expert last week suggested to French magazine VSD that Princess Charlene had a 'pact' to produce a legitimate heir with her new husband before the couple can go their separate ways.

'It's the main reason for this peculiar marriage,' said a professor teaching at the lycee Albert 1 in Monaco, adding: 'Once the succession of the dynasty is assured, each of them can be free again. Divorce is a tradition in the Grimaldi family.'

Both of Albert's sisters, Princesses Caroline and Stephanie, have a number of high-profile divorces behind them, while Albert himself has been through numerous failed relationships before finally tying the knot for the first time in his 50s.

Despite confirmation that the DNA tests will take place, and that they had a pre-wedding crisis, Charlene told the latest edition of American Vogue magazine: 'It is a shame that those rumours came at such a bad time, but I think they were timed to sabotage such a happy occasion.

'They are categorical lies. I won't dignify them with any response other than to say that the photographs of me and Albert in love and getting married will speak louder than any vicious gossip and empty rumours.'

The Big Day: The official wedding photograph of Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Charlene


source:dailymail