Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Principality of Monaco expecting twins

Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Principality of Monaco expecting twins

 

Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene, the South African wife of Principality of Monaco Monarch His Serene Highness Prince Albert II, is expecting twins at the end of the year, the royal palace announced Thursday.

 

"His Serene Highness Prince and Her Serene Highness Princess of Principality of Monaco are happy to confirm they are expecting twins... at the end of the year," the palace said in a statement, confirming a report earlier this week in Hello! magazine.

 

Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene, 36, is a Zimbabwe-born former Olympic swimmer who married His Serene Highness Prince Albert, 56, in 2011.

 

The twins, who will replace His Serene Highness Prince Albert sister Caroline as the next in line to the Principality of Monaco throne, will be Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene first children and the grandsons or granddaughters of Hollywood superstar Grace Kelly.

 

His Serene Highness Prince Albert, who succeeded his father, Kelly's husband His Serene Highness Prince Rainer, in 2005, already has two children from affairs during his days as one of the world's most eligible bachelors.

 

His US-born daughter Jazmin -- from a fling with former waitress Tamara Rotolo -- recently graduated from university in the United States.

 

His Serene Highness Prince denied being her father for years before DNA tests proved otherwise when she was a teenager.

 

His Serene Highness Prince also has a younger son, Alexandre Coste, from an affair he had with Nicole Coste, a former Air France hostess.

 

Under Principality of Monaco inheritance laws, neither of the two recognised illegitimate children have any claim to royal titles or to be considered as heirs to His Serene Highness Prince Albert.

 

They do however have legal rights to a share of his huge personal fortune, estimated by Forbes magazine to exceed one billion dollars.

 

His Serene Highness Prince Albert and Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene relationship has repeatedly been reported to be on the verge of collapse since reports suggested she had attempted to flee Monaco just days before their wedding, distraught at rumours that details of a third illegitimate child were about to surface.

 

It was widely reported that the couple spent at least part of their honeymoon in separate hotels and regular pictures of the princess looking gloomy since then helped to fuel reports that she was depressed.

 

A glamorous blonde who has retained her swimmer's physique, Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene hails from a middle-class Zimbabwean family with German roots who relocated to South Africa when she was 11.

 

She swam for her adopted country in the 4 x 100m medley relay team at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

 

Copyright © 2014 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 9 Thursday October 2014 The Roman)