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It will be the biggest day in Monaco since his father Rainier III married Hollywood actress Grace Kelly in 1956, but preparations have been clouded by claims that Charlene attempted to call it off.
Press reports suggested that she had learned of some secret from Albert's private life and decided to head home to South Africa, only to be intercepted by royal aides and persuaded to stay on.
The royal house and family friends dismissed the claim.
"These rumours have no other goal than to severely damage the reputation of the monarch and thereby that of Miss Wittstock and severely undermine this happy event," said the palace, which is banking on a wedding tourist boom.
"I just spoke to her assistant and whatever the story is, it's not true. I called her and asked if everything is okay, and they said everything is fine," said Ryk Neethling, a fellow South African Olympic swimmer.
Albert, 53, has children with two other women but has yet to produce an heir, a matter of some concern to Monaco constitutionalists, who fear instability should the throne revert to his sister Caroline.
For nine centuries Monaco has been run by the Grimaldi family, the crown passing through the male line. In 2002, fearing Albert would die without an heir, Monaco changed its constitution to allow a princess to inherit.
In the absence of any heir, Monaco would become a French protectorate.
Until Tuesday, all appeared to be going to plan. Charlene's blonde locks, high cheekbones and impressively broad shoulders have graced the covers of magazines and celebrity guests are converging on the Mediterranean enclave.
The wedding was never going to compete for column inches with Britain's marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, but the Monaco brand was looking forward to receiving a rejuvenating shot in the arm.
But on Tuesday, reports surfaced of a falling out. Charlene, it was said, had learned a dark secret about her stocky, balding partner and flown the coop.
The 33-year-old was reported by France's L'Express magazine's website to have sought a one-way ticket home only to be halted and returned to her gilded cage.
"Charlene Wittstock had learned a few hours earlier that the private life of the man she was about to marry, who publicly acknowledged in 2005 a child from an adulterous relationship, was not as exemplary as she had imagined," it said.
An outraged palace firmly denied the tale, the royal couple made a sudden inspection visit to the wedding site to be photographed arm-in-arm, and their lawyer threatened to sue for defamation -- before backing down.
Palace advisor and television royal wedding commentator Stephane Bern also tried to dismiss the rumour, but not without adding to the speculation by citing rumours of another love child.
"A woman could easily pretend that she's pregnant by a prince," he told Le Parisien. "You can't do a DNA test to check three days before a wedding!"
Meanwhile, other media had joined in dropping hints about the supposed secret, and raking over the details of the prince's previous liaisons -- including his siring of illegitimate children with at least two women.
The Monaco royal clan has an unlucky matrimonial history.
Albert's mother, US film star Grace Kelly -- turned Princess Grace on her marriage to Rainier III -- died in a car crash in 1982. Her daughter Caroline lost her second husband Stephano Casiraghi in a 1990 motorboat accident.
The other royal sister, Princess Stephanie, has also been unlucky in love, in the words of Wednesday's edition of Le Parisien "marrying almost as often as she falls in love" and finding herself betrayed by her bodyguard lover.
The clan's latest experiment in matrimony will begin with a civil ceremony on Friday, followed by a concert by electropop veteran Jean-Michel Jarre, then on Saturday by a Catholic religious ceremony and grand ball.
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Press reports suggested that she had learned of some secret from Albert's private life and decided to head home to South Africa, only to be intercepted by royal aides and persuaded to stay on.
The royal house and family friends dismissed the claim.
"These rumours have no other goal than to severely damage the reputation of the monarch and thereby that of Miss Wittstock and severely undermine this happy event," said the palace, which is banking on a wedding tourist boom.
"I just spoke to her assistant and whatever the story is, it's not true. I called her and asked if everything is okay, and they said everything is fine," said Ryk Neethling, a fellow South African Olympic swimmer.
Albert, 53, has children with two other women but has yet to produce an heir, a matter of some concern to Monaco constitutionalists, who fear instability should the throne revert to his sister Caroline.
For nine centuries Monaco has been run by the Grimaldi family, the crown passing through the male line. In 2002, fearing Albert would die without an heir, Monaco changed its constitution to allow a princess to inherit.
In the absence of any heir, Monaco would become a French protectorate.
Until Tuesday, all appeared to be going to plan. Charlene's blonde locks, high cheekbones and impressively broad shoulders have graced the covers of magazines and celebrity guests are converging on the Mediterranean enclave.
The wedding was never going to compete for column inches with Britain's marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, but the Monaco brand was looking forward to receiving a rejuvenating shot in the arm.
But on Tuesday, reports surfaced of a falling out. Charlene, it was said, had learned a dark secret about her stocky, balding partner and flown the coop.
The 33-year-old was reported by France's L'Express magazine's website to have sought a one-way ticket home only to be halted and returned to her gilded cage.
"Charlene Wittstock had learned a few hours earlier that the private life of the man she was about to marry, who publicly acknowledged in 2005 a child from an adulterous relationship, was not as exemplary as she had imagined," it said.
An outraged palace firmly denied the tale, the royal couple made a sudden inspection visit to the wedding site to be photographed arm-in-arm, and their lawyer threatened to sue for defamation -- before backing down.
Palace advisor and television royal wedding commentator Stephane Bern also tried to dismiss the rumour, but not without adding to the speculation by citing rumours of another love child.
"A woman could easily pretend that she's pregnant by a prince," he told Le Parisien. "You can't do a DNA test to check three days before a wedding!"
Meanwhile, other media had joined in dropping hints about the supposed secret, and raking over the details of the prince's previous liaisons -- including his siring of illegitimate children with at least two women.
The Monaco royal clan has an unlucky matrimonial history.
Albert's mother, US film star Grace Kelly -- turned Princess Grace on her marriage to Rainier III -- died in a car crash in 1982. Her daughter Caroline lost her second husband Stephano Casiraghi in a 1990 motorboat accident.
The other royal sister, Princess Stephanie, has also been unlucky in love, in the words of Wednesday's edition of Le Parisien "marrying almost as often as she falls in love" and finding herself betrayed by her bodyguard lover.
The clan's latest experiment in matrimony will begin with a civil ceremony on Friday, followed by a concert by electropop veteran Jean-Michel Jarre, then on Saturday by a Catholic religious ceremony and grand ball.
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