Prince Albert II of Monaco and his bride, Charlene, welcomed hundreds of world leaders, fellow royals and stars of sport and fashion to their tiny Mediterranean realm yesterday.
The second day of their royal nuptials was to be marked with a spectacular open-air religious ceremony in front of 800 honored guests and 3,500 of their subjects in the courtyard of the Grimaldi clan’s fortress-like palace.
Organizers hope the glamor of the spectacle will overshadow what senior Monaco officials now privately admit is the “truth” of the rumor that Albert II faces a paternity test following a claim by at least one former lover.
Photo: AFP
Reports the South African princess was furious and threatened to leave when she learned her prince’s latest secret marred the build-up to the wedding, but the event itself has gone smoothly and the Monegasques are philosophical.
“We can’t remake the prince. It’s a modern marriage. Charlene has known him for a long time and accepts it,” a 30-something wellwisher said, insisting on remaining anonymous like most of Monaco’s 7,810-strong native population.
Albert, at 53 two decades older than his blond bride, has two children from previous relationships, but even if a third or a fourth is confirmed, he will still not have an official heir until his lawful wife bears him one.
“We just want the Grimaldi dynasty to continue,” said a 72-year-old Monegasque, a direct descendant of a group of Genoan migrants who settled the rocky Riviera outcrop and future tax haven in 1775.
Charlene appeared tense, but poised at her civil marriage ceremony on Friday in the throne room of her palace, but relaxed slightly at a buffet reception for Monaco’s people, where she posed for pictures and hugged babies.
Later, she and the prince joined an estimated 80,000 people, double the normal population of the state, at the waterfront for a spectacular sound and light show by veteran French electropop pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of