Don’t believe the hype! Reps for Prince Albert of Monaco — the son of late film legend Grace Kelly — say that despite Watercooler Chatter to the contrary, the eternal bachelor and his fiancee, South African beauty Charlene Wittstock are still set to walk down the aisle at Monaco Palace without a hitch this weekend.
Royal gawkers in the small nation have been sitting on pens and needles on the heels of a French newspaper report this week, which claimed that the Olympic swim star, allegedly unhappy about a discovery she’d made about her fiance’s previous love life, tried to put the kibosh on things a few days before the wedding. As the story goes, Charlene only agreed to marry Albert after receiving a stern talking to from government officials. The palace strongly denies the rumors — and Wittstock even appeared in public with Albert to reassure residents that Friday’s civil ceremony and Saturday’s religious ceremony are still on.
Meanwhile, Albert and Charlene have released a list of the high-profile celebs who’ll be joining them for the big day. On the fashion front we’ve got Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld and Italian designers Roberto Cavalli and Giorgio Armani, who designed the Olympic swim star’s wedding dress. Supermodels Naomi Campbell and Karolina Kurkova are also expected to attend.
The prince and his bride announced their engagement last summer. It’s the first wedding of a reigning prince in Monaco since Kelly married Albert’s dad, Prince Rainier, in a buzzed-about ceremony that was billed “The Wedding of the Century” back in 1957.