Princess Charlene happy at last...and expecting?

Months after the rocky start to their married life, Monaco royal couple Charlene and Albert seem so cosy, there’s talk of a baby.

Love is in the air – or should that be in the heir? – for Monaco’s “runaway bride” Princess Charlene and her husband, Prince Albert II. The royal couple, who are coming to Australia early next year, are believed to be expecting their first child, just four months after a weeping Charlene, 33, said “I do” amid sensational claims she had tried to flee the principality rather than marry its 53-year-old ruler.

Though there has been no official confirmation from the palace, rumours have circulated for weeks that Charlene is to provide the former playboy prince with his first legitimate heir. Gone are the sexy, silhouette-hugging Armani dresses she favoured, replaced by loosely belted jackets, ample swing coats and evening gowns in curve-camouflaging velvet. Could the sudden cover-ups be due to the wintry nip in the Monte Carlo air – or something infinitely more exciting? It’s a question on every Monegasque’s lips.

Their prince has two recognised children born out of wedlock –Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, 19, his daughter by a US real-estate agent, and Alexandre Coste, 7, his son by a former Togolese air hostess – but under Monaco law these children cannot inherit.Speculation that Albert faced a paternity test over a third child was the reason given for Charlene’s alleged reluctance – since denied – to marry.

Those paternity claims appear to have been shelved since the wedding. A baby with Charlene would brush away Albert’s concerns and bring happiness to his scandal-plagued family. It could also explain the couple’s surprising new public displays of affection.