MONACO - Prince Albert II of Monaco publicly admitted for the first time 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 glamour 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 two billion euros ($A3.2 billion dollars).
A statement sent to AFP by his lawyer said that the prince "recognises 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 Tuesday.
The lawyer, Thierry Lacoste, said a planned communique Thursday 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 told AFP, 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 publication Friday.
"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 told AFP earlier this week she decided to talk to the media about Alexandre because "I was afraid Albert would go back on recognising 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.
"My meeting with Albert was very natural, there was nothing calculated about it. In these accusations, there is a lot of jealousy and maybe a little bit of racism, but I prefer not to think about that," said Coste, who is black.
Speaking after Wednesday's statement from the prince, Coste's lawyer Daniel Vaconsin said: "We welcome this recognition with relief but also vigilance," adding that the mother's legal and financial status now had to be resolved.
Lacoste said Albert "deplored" the media attention the case had generated, saying it "should have remained a strictly private matter" and appealing for privacy in the future.
Prince need to marry her; the son need to marry a Black chick and we gon take over all that Sh*t over there. Hell I might move to Monaco if that happens.
That's what I wondered too? Maybe because he's out of wedlock and he has to have a princess mother? Yeah, I just researched it; he can't succeed him because he was born out of wedlock but he can get financial heritance.
Prince need to marry her; the son need to marry a Black chick and we gon take over all that Sh*t over there. Hell I might move to Monaco if that happens.
That's what I was thinkin when I saw the first part of this article. Like we TAKIN OVA. I think he need to follow suit like many people do today though and marry his baby momma. It's only right. You know we would turn the throne out too and the royal family would be all black in a century or two.
Fukk not being able to be royalty cause he was born outta wedlock..that lil n*gga is gonna be BANKING when he gets his inheritance money !!!! and thats all that matters.
