Monaco prince acknowledges second illegitimate child

PARIS, June 2 (Reuters) Prince Albert of Monaco, son of the late Hollywood actress Grace Kelly, has admitted that he fathered a second illegitimate child, his lawyer said in a newspaper interview.

Fourteen-year-old American high school student Jazmin Grace Rotolo will not be entitled to the throne because under the constitution of the tiny Mediterranean principality only a child born into Catholic wedlock can succeed.

''The prince officially recognises the paternity that was legally established several weeks ago,'' his lawyer Thierry Lacoste told Le Figaro daily newspaper yesterday.

Shortly after succeeding from his father Prince Rainier, Albert admitted last July that he had an illegitimate son with a flight attendant from Togo.

He said Albert, 48, had initially wanted to protect Jazmin Grace's identity until she was an adult.

''But for a few weeks now, the paparazzi have been circling ... and the situation was becoming unbearable for her,'' said Lacoste, who did not give any details about the mother of Albert's daughter.

Rainier died last April at the age of 81 of lung, heart and kidney problems after ruling Monaco for half a century.

Rainier's marriage to Kelly in 1956 brought glamour to Monaco but the Grimaldi dynasty that has ruled for more than seven centuries is familiar with tragedy and bad publicity.

Albert's sisters Caroline and Stephanie have often made headlines mainly for their marriage problems and love lives, and Albert has sometimes been portrayed as a playboy. Princess Grace was killed in a car crash in 1982.

Albert has promised to continue efforts made over the past few years to clean up Monaco's image as a centre for money laundering and loose financial controls.

Lacoste acknowledged that tales of the prince's love life were overshadowing the family's work.

''It would be desirable to pay more attention to the new impetus the prince has given in his everyday work on the development of the principality,'' he said.

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