Prince Albert II of Monaco publicly admitted for the first time on Wednesday that he is the father of a 22-month-old boy who was born out of wedlock to a French-Togolese former flight attendant.
His son, Alexandre Coste, is not allowed to succeed Albert as ruler of the tiny Mediterranean principality under current succession laws but will be able to claim a financial inheritance, the prince's lawyer said.
It marks another remarkable chapter in the history of Monaco, a statelet no bigger than New York's Central Park but which has become indelibly linked with Hollywood glamor and jet-set wealth.
Albert, the son of Prince Rainier and the late glamorous Hollywood actress Grace Kelly, is estimated to have a fortune worth some 2 billion euros (US$2.4 billion).
A statement by his lawyer said that the prince "recognizes this child as his own and expresses the hope that he can enjoy his childhood and adolescence in a calm and untroubled way, kept well away from the glare of the media."
Alexandre Coste was born in Paris to Nicole Coste, a 33-year-old Togolese woman who also holds French citizenship.
European media first broke the story in May but Prince Albert, 47, had kept silent about his presumed paternity until Wednesday, which was the last day of official mourning for his father Rainier, who died in April. Albert himself is to be formally enthroned on Tuesday.
The lawyer, Thierry Lacoste, said a communique planned for yesterday about the boy had been brought forward by a day because of media attention.
Alexandre Coste, being "illegitimate, will not be in the official line to the throne and will not carry the name Grimaldi," he said, but "will have the same inheritance rights as other children of the prince, should he have other children."
Monaco's Constitution requires its rulers to be born in wedlock.
Prince Albert reiterated the point in an interview with Le Monde 2 magazine released two days ahead of its publication today.
"I entirely accept my responsibilities and I will provide my share for the education of this child with consideration for his future and his right to a normal childhood, protected from the eyes of the media," he said.
"His life will have no effect on the functioning of the regime nor on my succession."
It was the glossy magazine Paris-Match which first revealed the story in a 10-page spread earlier this year, including photos of Albert cradling a baby and an interview with Nicole Coste in which she told of a five-year relationship.
Though seen with a bevy of beautiful women over the years, Albert had kept his love life firmly out of public view.
The list of alleged dalliances is long: Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Brooke Shields, Angie Everhart. But no confirmation was ever forthcoming.
Nicole Coste said earlier this week that she decided to talk to the media about Alexandre because "I was afraid Albert would go back on recognizing his son.
"I had a very strict Catholic upbringing and for me it was a disgrace to not be able to tell my family who is the father of my child.
"I always told Albert that Alexandre would not live hidden away."
Coste, who has two children from a marriage ended in 1998, said she had met Albert on an Air France flight in July 1997. She said she became pregnant in December 2002, and Alexandre was born the following year. She denied accusations she was a gold digger.
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