Monaco welcomes its new princess

The couple exchanged 18 carat, white gold platinum rings by Cartier. As Albert slipped the ring on to her finger, he winked, and as she put his on, she burst into a broad smile.

The South African bride, 33, appeared to well up behind the veil as she took her place at the altar in the princely palace where the Catholic ceremony took place.

She wore an off-the-shoulder gown by Giorgio Armani, and a long veil. More than 2,500 hours of work, 80 metres of silk and 40,000 Swarovski crystals went into the gown, officials said.

VIP guests – including Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, former James Bond actor Roger Moore and former French first lady Bernadette Chirac – joined European royals, heads of state, supermodels and athletes at the palace.

Photographers shouted at Czech supermodel Karolina Kurkova, dressed in a sober navy skirt suit, to strike a pose, and the crowd of thousands of the principality’s citizens following the festivities on giant screens just outside the palace broke into cheers as French musician Jean Michel Jarre swept by.

Other household names converging on the palace – an Italian Renaissance castle where Monaco’s ruling Grimaldi dynasty has resided for centuries – included French president Nicolas Sarkozy, Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, US soprano Renee Fleming and Armani.

After the ceremony, the couple walked to a chapel dedicated to Monaco’s patron saint St Devote, where the princess placed her bouquet – as local tradition dictates.

Celebrated French-born chef Alain Ducasse prepared a multi-course dinner for 450 guests.

Ducasse, who like many in his tax bracket has taken citizenship in Monaco, is the first chef to earn three Michelin stars in three cities, including three for his Louis XV restaurant in Monaco.

He said freshly caught fish and vegetables grown on Albert’s farm would be on the menu.

The couple married in an intimate civil service on Friday inside the prince’s palace. Albert’s sisters, Princesses Caroline and Stephanie, were among several dozen guests at that ceremony, which was held in the sumptuous throne room where the prince’s father, the late Rainier III, wed Hollywood legend Grace Kelly in 1956.

Kelly died in a car crash nearly 30 years ago, and the tiny principality on the Riviera had been without a princess ever since.

Known as a notorious ladies man, 53-year-old Albert long eschewed marriage, and many in Monaco had resigned themselves to forever having a bachelor prince.

The constitution was even modified to ensure the continuity of the Grimaldi line, one of Europe’s oldest dynasties, in case Albert never produced an heir.

The prince acknowledged having fathered two children out of wedlock, but only his legitimate offspring would be able to succeed him.

Before the ceremony, rumours were rife that Wittstock had almost left the prince.

A week ago it was reported that she had fled to the airport with her luggage, wanting to buy a one-way ticket to South Africa after allegedly hearing that her fiancé was to be a father for a third, if not fourth, time.

Some reports said she had her passport removed while officials contacted Albert, who then entered into “peace talks” with his fiancée.

The palace denied the reports, dismissing them as “ugly rumours” prompted by spite and jealousy.

A top aide to the prince last week said the couple were “affected” by the rumours but were concentrating on last-minute preparations.

Before the wedding, Wittstock spoke in a television interview of how she wanted to have her own children.

“I love children and have always wanted to have children of my own,” she said, sitting next to Albert. “We’ll see in the next couple of months or years.”