Prince Albert acknowledges second love child

Prince Albert II of Monaco

PARIS - The Monaco royal family is about to grow a little larger.

Prince Albert, the ruler of the minuscule Mediterranean state, will shortly recognise that he is the father of a 14 years old Californian girl, according to a book published this week.

In July last year, His Serene Highness Albert II acknowledged paternity of Alexandre, the three years old son of a former Togolese air hostess, Nicole Cost.

According to a book by two journalists on Le Figaro, he is now also ready to recognise his long-rumoured paternity of Jazmin Grace Rotolo of Palm Springs, California.

Asked about the reports yesterday, the Monaco royal palace said that it had nothing to say "for the time being".

Albert inherited the Monegasque throne after the death of his father, Prince Rainier, in April last year.

He has pledged to rule with high "ethical" standards and is therefore said to be ready to make a public statement about his relation to Miss Rotolo.

The existence of a hidden Californian daughter of the unmarried prince has been the subject of numerous stories in celebrity magazines over the years.

Albert's apparent decision to come clean is reported in a book about the celebrity press, Les Dessous de la Presse People by Léna Lutaud et Thiébault Dromard published in France this week by De La Martiniere.

The book quotes a Monaco royal family insider as saying: "There are no other hidden children." Jazmin Grace - apparently named after Prince Albert's mother, Princess Grace - was born in March 1992.

Her mother, Tamara Rotolo, a former waitress, is reported to have had a brief relationship with Albert during a European holiday in the summer of 1991.

When he recognised Alexandre last year, Albert said that he would take responsibility for the cost of the child's upbringing and education.

Both children would be eligible to share in Albert's personal fortune at his death but would not, as children born out of wedlock, have any claim on the Monegasque throne.

- INDEPENDENT