The crown prince of Monaco, Albert II, will marry his South African fiancee Charlene Wittstock in July next year, the Mediterranean statelet's royal household announced today.

The couple will tie the knot in a civil ceremony at the palace on July 8 and then hold a religious ceremony the following day, a statement said.

Prince Albert is the 52-year-old son of the Prince Rainier III and the late Hollywood actress Grace Kelly and has ruled Monaco since July 2005.

Wittstock is 20 years Albert's junior, an Olympic swimmer and a school teacher who met the prince in 2000 and has regularly appeared in public with him since they attended the 2006 winter Olympics in Turin together.

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