Separate hotels for Royals on honeymoon

Prince Albert of Monaco and his new bride slept apart on their honeymoon to South Africa in different hotels some 16kms away from each other.

Albert and his wife Charlene Wittstock, a South African swimming champion, were expected to be staying last week in a US$3600-a-night suite at the luxurious Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga Rocks, near Durban, media reports say.

However, the City Press newspaper said, citing a hotel spokesperson, that Charlene in fact stayed alone in a cheaper suite at the hotel, while Albert slept at the Hilton Hotel.

During the holiday, the newlyweds hosted a wedding reception in Durban for South African friends and dignatories who could not make their glittering marriage ceremony in Monaco on July 2.

The City Press said that when the couple met President Jacob Zuma "they arrived in the same car but left in two separate vehicles." They also posed for a very "awkward" kiss, the paper said.

The revelations come amid continued speculation about the health of the highly-scrutinised marriage.

Albert, 53, and his 33-year-old bride reportedly had to return home early from their South Africa holiday so he could have a DNA test as part of paternity claim from another woman.

There have also been numerous reports that Charlene tried to leave Monaco several times before the wedding amid rumors of Albert's apparent love child.

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