Prince Albert of Monaco: Photos with love children are reminder of multiple paternity claims of past

A new photograph shared by one of Prince Albert of Monaco’s former flames has offered a glimpse into the European royal’s very complicated romantic life through the decades.

In the extraordinary image, taken in New York and published on Instagram by the royal’s one-time squeeze, former Air France cabin crew Nicole Coste, 51, the 64-year-old Monegasque royal is seen grinning as he poses alongside his grown-up daughter Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, 30, – whose mother is American waitress Tamara Rotolo, 61, – and her half-brother Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste, 19, the son Albert shares with Coste. 

Albert, the only son of Hollywood legend Grace Kelly – tragically killed at the age of 52 – who was married to his late father, Prince Rainier III of Monaco, still enjoys an ongoing close relationship with former lover Coste – now a glamorous fashion designer; indeed the pair appeared at a charity ball together last year. 

Despite not growing up with their biological father, both adult children have adopted the regal Grimaldi surname, and clearly have an increasingly close relationship with the prince, despite the fact it’s believed that he only acknowledged them both following DNA tests. 

The latest social media photograph could spark fresh tension between Prince Albert and current wife Princess Charlene, who he shares seven-year-old twins Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques with.

Prince Albert and his wife have only recently been reunited after enduring almost a year apart following her long period of illness that began in early 2021 and saw Princess Charlene retreat to her native South Africa, before she later received treatment in a Swiss clinic for physical and emotional issues. 

Last year, the royal applied for ‘sovereign immunity’ after another paternity suit was launched against him. The claim, which his lawyers dismissed as a ‘hoax’, is particularly painful as he was dating Charlene at the time, having met the former Olympic swimmer in 2000.

Last week the couple put on a united front, attending the annual Princess Grace Awards in New York, and, in September, they travelled to London to attend the Queen’s funeral. 

Here, FEMAIL looks at the women who’ve fallen for Prince Albert and the children they share…

Difficulties: Prince Albert with current wife Princess Charlene and their two children, twins Prince Jacques of Monaco and Princess Gabriella of Monaco. Charlene, 44, has recently returned to public life after a medical illness while she was visiting South Africa kept her away from her husband and children for much of 2021 and part of 2022

Prince Albert’s four children – two born out of wedlock – pictured together (left) in January this year: Jazmin, 30, the prince’s illegitimate daughter with Tamara Rotolo, is pictured with half-brother Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste, 19, Albert’s son with flight attendant Nicole Coste, and seven-year-old twins Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, his children with Princess Charlene

NICOLE COSTE: THE GLAMOROUS EX AIR FRANCE ATTENDANT TURNED FASHION DESIGNER FROM TOGO, WHO STILL ENJOYS A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MONEGASQUE ROYAL WHO’S FATHER TO HER SON, 19 

Coste, the mother of Prince Albert of Monaco’s now 19-year-old love child Alexandre, continues to be a key figure in the European royal’s life – indeed, she has nothing but praise for how her one-time lover has helped to raise her son. 

The Air France flight attendant turned fashion designer, 50, gave birth to Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste in August 2003, two years before Albert, then heir to the Monegasque throne, started dating Princess Charlene, who he went on to marry in 2011. 

Prince Albert with his ex, Nicole Coste, 50, and their son Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste; the former lovers have remained close, with the Monegasque royal appearing with Coste at a charity event last year – while his current wife was receiving medical treatment in South Africa  

Nicole Coste, an Air France air hostess turned fashion designer, gave birth to Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste in August 2003, two years before Albert, then heir to the Monegasque throne, started dating Princess Charlene. Pictured, the couple at an event in April 2002

In photographs shared online, Nicole can be seen wearing an elegant purple gown to the event with dangling diamond earrings, while the son she shares with Prince Albert (right) opted for a blue suit

Nicole and Albert had dated for five years and the Togo-born beauty had made public appearances with her royal beau and even met his late father, Rainier III.

But Alexandre’s existence was only made public in May 2005 when Nicole gave an explosive tell-all interview to French magazine Paris Match, claiming her then two-year-old son was Albert’s.

Two months later, shortly before he was enthroned, Albert confirmed he had fathered Alexandre. The following year he also admitted he had a daughter Jazmin Grimaldi, now 29, born to American Tamara Rotolo in 1992.

Alexandre’s existence was only made public in May 2005 when Nicole gave an explosive tell-all interview to French magazine Paris Match, claiming her then two-year-old son was Albert’s. Pictured, the 19-year-old with his half-sister, Jazmin Grimaldi, who was born in 1992

In the almost two decades since the 2005 interview, Nicole has raised Alexandre and his older half-brothers in Geneva, London and New York, and chosen to stay largely out of the spotlight.

However, she was firmly back in the public eye after she and her son attended Monaco’s glittering Rose Ball alongside Albert and other members of the royal family in 2021, and marked Alexandre’s 18th birthday with a lavish bash thrown by his royal father – while Albert’s current wife was in South Africa receiving medical treatment.    

Coste left Africa at just 15. One of five children, she was determined to make a better life for herself and so travelled to Paris to study. Their liaison became the best-kept secret among Monaco society. 

Although they both attended red carpet events and mixed with socialites and celebrities, the majority of Albert’s subjects knew nothing of the relationship. However their initial passion waned and the relationship petered out. But in its final days, Nicole discovered she was pregnant. 

Nicole gave birth to Alexandre in August 2003 and in December that year Alexandre was officially recognised by Albert as his son, Nicole told Paris Match. 

Speaking last year, Coste says she spoke out because there had been an issue with obtaining the documentation proving Albert had recognised Alexandre as his son, which she wanted to rectify. 

On 6 July 2005, less than a week before he was enthroned on 12 July, the Prince officially confirmed via his lawyer that Alexandre was his.  

In the same interview, Nicole explained Albert has been a constant presence in his son’s life, despite reports to the contrary, and had been involved in everything from his education to his birthday parties.

‘Albert made a commitment from the start to be present, and to gradually bring his son into his family,’ she said, in an interview translated from French.

‘Very quickly, I was reassured when Princess Stephanie became Alexander’s godmother. Albert has honored his promise: things are building well and running their course, which I am delighted with.’

TAMARA ROTOLO: US WAITRESS TURNED REAL ESTATE AGENT WHO ENJOYED A PASSIONATE AFFAIR WITH PRINCE ALBERT – BUT HE DIDN’T MEET HER DAUGHTER JAZMIN GRACE, NOW 30, UNTIL SHE WAS 11  

A DNA test back in May 2006 confirmed Albert was the father of Jazmin Grace, the result of an affair with Tamara Rotolo, an American estate agent he met while she was on holiday in the South of France. 

Her mother, then a waitress, had a fling with the monarch back in 1991, while on vacation. Jazmin was born in 1992 and his eldest son Alexandre in 2003.

Now a real estate agent, Tamara took her daughter to California with her and she only met her father aged 11. 

Talking about meeting her father for the first time, Jazmin said back in 2015: ‘I wanted that moment to connect with my father, to get to know him, and to have him get to know me,’ Jazmin, a trained opera singer, said.

‘Not having had that figure around, I missed that. It’s wonderful that it happened when it did, and we’ve been enjoying a great relationship ever since.’ 

In August, Jazmin revealed her close relationship with Albert’s second love child Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste as she marked his 18th birthday in a sweet Instagram post.

She shared a series of Instagram posts from her half-brother’s birthday party on Saturday, writing: ‘It’s a celebration. Happy birthday my little brother Alexandre!’

Jazmin’s mother Tamara, then a waitress, had a fling with the monarch back in 1991, while on holiday (pictured left together). Meanwhile Alexandre’s mother Nicole, then a flight attendant, had an affair with the Prince for years (pictured together in 2002) 

Time heals: Now a real estate agent based in California, Tamara Rotolo, 61, (pictured in 2010) has encouraged her daughter’s relationship with his European royal father

All smiles: A photo posted this week by Prince Albert’s lovechild Jazmin Grimaldi, 30, who is the daughter of the Monaco royal and US real estate agent Tamara Rotolo

The actress and singer didn’t meet her father until she was 11 but has a close relationship with the Monaco royal now

Close: Prince Albert and Jazmin watch the Monte-Carlo ATP Masters Series Tournament on April 19, 2018 in Monaco

PRINCESS CHARLENE: TROUBLED FORMER OLYMPIAN – MOTHER OF THE COUPLE’S TWINS – HAS BATTLED HEALTH ISSUES LEAVING THE COUPLE ENDURING LONG PERIODS APART  

Since Albert and Princess Charlene’s lavish three-day wedding in 2011, rumoured to have cost £53million, they have endured a series of trying times, which seemed to begin in the days leading up to their nuptials.   

Former Olympic swimmer Charlene, 44, was said to have bolted two days before the royal wedding after hearing Prince Albert had a third love child during their relationship. It was alleged that Charlene tried to flee home to South Africa three times before her ‘arranged marriage’, at one point taking refuge inside her country’s embassy in Paris. 

Monaco officials were said to have coaxed her back by brokering a deal between the Prince and his reluctant bride that she provide him with a legitimate heir. After that she would be free to leave of her own free will.  

A return to royal duties: Prince Albert of Monaco and his wife Princess Charlene pictured at the annual Princess Grace Awards in New York last 

Wedding day: Prince Albert wed then Charlene Wittstock in the Saint Devota Church on July 2nd, 2011 in Monaco – but the couple have faced a tumultuous marriage in their 11 years together

During the wedding, Charlene was in floods of tears, while her husband looked on impassively. Later in the year, Princess Charlene confessed she felt ‘very lonely’ in Monaco.

In 2021, Charlene took a medical hiatus in South Africa and Switzerland, just as yet another paternity suit surfaced for Albert. She spent most of 2021 away from her husband and children in her native South Africa after contracting an ear nose and throat infection.

Shortly after her return to Monaco the royal was admitted to a European treatment facility in Switzerland for exhaustion, both ’emotional and physical’. Charlene missed the seventh birthday of her twins Gabriella and Jacques and her tenth wedding anniversary with Albert.  

In interviews at the time, Albert explained he had stepped up to play a bigger role in his children’s lives as the family copes with Charlene’s ongoing health issues.

‘For me, it’s pretty simple – my priority is my family,’ he said in an interview at the time. ‘Of course, without neglecting state affairs… I hope everyone understands that. When I can be with my kids, I do it without hesitation.

Albert has seven-year-old twins with his wife, the former Olympic swimmer Princess Charlene – Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella

Back together: The family pictured at Picnic In Le Parc om Monaco in September – ahead of the couple’s children returning to school following their summer break

‘This is an extremely important time in their life – the way they grow up helps them see the world. And if one of the parents is away for medical reasons, the other parent has to be there.’ 

Charlene’s time away followed fresh allegations last year that Albert had fathered another love child (which would be his third, if proven) in 2005 with an unnamed Brazilian woman during the time when he and Charlene, a former Olympic swimmer for South Africa, were already in a relationship, having dated since 2000. 

Prince Albert ‘applied for sovereign immunity’ in his court battle to fight the claims, which his lawyers dismissed as a ‘hoax’. In a statement from his Paris office, Prince Albert’s lawyer Thierry Lacoste said ‘the claims before the Italian courts are totally unfounded’ and sovereign immunity was ‘perfectly classic for a head of state as part of the defense package.’ 

It was reported that the case would go to court in Milan this February but nine months on, it seems unlikely that the suit will now materialise before a court. 

Princess Charlene returned to public duty in May, making the occasional public appearance with her husband and children by her side. At the summer’s end, Charlene posed with Albert for a portrait marking their 11th wedding anniversary, and joined him in taking her children back to school in September. 

Princess Charlene’s trials and tribulations in the Monaco royal family

1987 – Bea Fiedler, a German topless model, claims her son Daniel was the prince’s son. 

1992 – An American national files a paternity lawsuit against the Prince, claiming that he was the father of her daughter, Jazmin Grace.

2000 – Princess Charlene meets Prince Albert at the Mare Nostrum swimming competition in Monte Carlo

2005 – In May, a former flight attendant claims that her youngest son, whom she named Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste, was Prince Albert’s child. She states that his parentage had been proven by DNA tests requested by the Monegasque government. 

On 6 July, a few days before he was enthroned on 12 July, the Prince officially confirms via his lawyer Lacoste that Alexandre was his biological son.

2006 – After a DNA test confirmed the child’s parentage, Albert admitted, via statement from his lawyer, that he is Jazmin Grace’s father.

The couple put on a united front and held hands after declaring the animal shelter open in September 2022. Princess Charlene spent almost a year away from Monaco after undergoing treatment for an unspecified condition

2010 – Princess Charlene and Prince Albert announce their engagement 

2011 – Princess Charlene was said to have bolted two days before the royal wedding after hearing Prince Albert had a third love child during their relationship. It was alleged that Charlene tried to flee home to South Africa three times before her ‘arranged marriage’, at one point taking refuge inside her country’s embassy in Paris. 

Monaco officials were said to have coaxed her back by brokering a deal between the Prince and his reluctant bride that she provide him with a legitimate heir. After that she would be free to leave of her own free will. 

During the wedding, Charlene was in floods of tears, while her husband looked on impassively. Later in the year, Princess Charlene confessed she felt ‘very lonely’ in Monaco

2012 – Princess Charlene was reported to be ‘depressed’ at her failure to provide her husband with a legitimate heir.

2014 – Pregnancy was announced in May. In December Charlene gave birth to twins Princess Gabriella and heir to the throne Prince Jacques. 

2017 – Princess Charlene visits Africa, tells media: ‘I am African and this is my heritage. It will always be. It’s in my heart and in my veins.’

2019 – In a rare interview, Princess Charlene confessed it is ‘sometimes hard to smile’ and said the year had been ‘very painful’In another interview, she said she found motherhood ‘exhausting’

2020 – Charlene debuts a shocking half-shaved hairstyle. It is announced Prince Albert of Monaco will appear in court in the new year to fight explosive claims he fathered a third love child with a secret girlfriend before marrying his now wife Princess Charlene. 

2021 – January 27 – Charlene is pictured with Albert for the Sainte Devote Ceremony in Monaco. It is the last time she has been seen in Monaco this year.