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Friday, July 8, 2011

Monaco royal newlyweds throw lavish S.Africa party


Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II of Monaco kiss each other on the red carpet outside the Oyster Box hotel where they threw a party to celebrate their recent wedding in Durban. -- PHOTO: AFP

UMHLANGA (South Africa) - PRINCE Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco threw a swank party on Thursday for members of the International Olympic Committee and assorted glitterati at a five-star hotel in South Africa.

The newly-weds, who are in Charlene's home country for a meeting of the IOC, held a dinner reception for nearly 500 guests at the Oyster Box, a seaside luxury hotel in the Indian Ocean resort town of Umhlanga.


The couple made a brief appearance on the red carpet in front of the hotel, obliging the crowd of photographers, journalists and several dozen royal-watchers with a quick kiss on the lips.

They spent about a minute posing for the cameras - Prince Albert dressed in a black suit and red tie, Princess Charlene in a black sleeveless gown with a diamond-shaped pattern that appeared inspired by African design - then headed back inside to the invitation-only event.

'We're just so thrilled,' said Joanne Hayes, public relations chief for the hotel. The Oyster Box has spent weeks preparing for the event, which follows on the couple's wedding at the weekend in Albert's tiny Mediterranean principality.

Guests arrived to drumming and dancing by a group of young Zulu men dressed in traditional animal-skin garb, and were also serenaded by a local choir. Dressed mostly in evening gowns and suits, they queued on the red carpet to pass through a security checkpoint at the entrance to the hotel, which was decked out in the red and white of the Monaco flag. -- AFP

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