Royal couple: Monaco's Prince Albert and Princess Charlene leave the Palace after their wedding earlier this monthPrince Albert of Monaco and his bride spent their honeymoon in separate hotels ten miles apart, it has been claimed.
The 53-year-old billionaire and his 33-year-old wife of just over a week have cut short their trip to South Africa so he can take a DNA test to resolve a multi-million pound paternity claim.
But it has been alleged that while the newlyweds were away, they stayed apart – with Princess Charlene in a hotel in the beach resort of Umhlanga Rocks and her husband ten miles away in the city of Durban.
Sun-kissed: Prince Albert checked into the Hilton in Durban...Reports of Albert’s alleged philandering had driven Charlene, a former Olympic swimmer, to try to run away from Monaco three times before their wedding.
But after the ceremony went ahead, the couple were expected to spend their honeymoon together in a £4,000-a-night suite at the Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga Rocks.
Prince Albert was thought to have booked the luxurious President’s Suite, which is spread over two floors and features its own swimming pool and a freestanding marble bath overlooking the Indian Ocean.
...while his wife was miles away at the Oyster BoxHowever, a South African newspaper has claimed that Princess Charlene stayed alone in a cheaper suite at the hotel, while Prince Albert checked into another hotel in Durban.
The report in City Press said: ‘It has been confirmed by a hotel spokesperson that Princess Charlene stayed in the Buthelezi Suite...Prince Albert stayed at the Hilton Hotel in Durban.’
The newspaper also suggested that when the couple met South African president Jacob Zuma, ‘they arrived in the same car but left in two separate vehicles’.
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
Awkward? Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II of Monaco put on a show by kissing each other during their honeymoon in South AfricaIt added: ‘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.’
Albert must now undergo DNA tests to answer claims that he has fathered a third, and possibly even a fourth, love child.
Miles apart: Princess Charlene stayed at the Oyster Box Hotel, while Prince Albert was at the Hilton Hotel in Durban
Comforting: Princess Charlene shared a moment with South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu during a visit in Cape Town during her honeymoon He already has a six-year-old son, Alexandre, with Togolese former air hostess Nicole Coste, and a 19-year-old daughter, Jazmin, with Tamara Rotolo, an American estate agent.
A constitutional expert last week suggested to French magazine VSD that Charlene had a ‘pact’ to produce a legitimate heir with her new husband before the couple can go their separate ways.
The professor, who teaches at the lycee Albert 1 in Monaco, added: ‘It’s the main reason for this peculiar marriage.’
Meet and greet: Princess Charlene also met children during several organised trips during her honeymoon in South Africasource: dailymail