PRINCE ALBERT II, Monaco’s new ruler, was locked in talks with his lawyers yesterday about how to respond to the revelation by a Togolese air hostess that he is the father of her 21-month-old son.

The disclosure in the French magazine, Paris Match, left the Prince facing the first crisis of his reign. His reputation could be shaped by the way that he tackles the claims that he abandoned the mother during her pregnancy and has since refused to publicly acknowledge the child, although, according to her account, a DNA test has proved his paternity and he has provided a home and support for the boy.

Devoting its cover and ten pages to the story, the magazine ran an interview with the mother, Nicole Coste, and six photographs of the Prince holding her son, Alexandre.

It is less than a month since Prince Rainier’s death brought an end to his 56-year reign and put his son on the throne. The Palace in Monaco refused to comment on the story, but Prince Albert’s lawyer, Maître Thierry Lacoste, issued a terse statement, saying: “A judicial strategy will be determined within the next few days.”

He added: “You need to ask yourself why this affair has come out just now.”

Mme Coste’s interview has prompted intense interest in France but silence in Monaco, where criticism of the monarchy is almost unheard of. There were no copies of Paris Match on sale in the principality yesterday, and none of the local media had covered the affair.

However, as the story spread, the surprise was all the greater for the Prince’s reputation as an inveterate bachelor who had never been known to have a girlfriend, much less a child.

“I usually see Paris Match when I get my hair cut, but I think I’ll pop out and get a copy as soon as I can,” a Monaco resident, who asked not to be named, said.

Mme Coste claims that a DNA test had proved the 47-year-old Prince’s paternity, which he had subsequently recognised in a document signed in front of a solicitor — adding that she had never received a copy of this document. If she is right, her son will have a claim on part of the £800 million fortune of the Grimaldi dynasty, which has ruled Monaco for seven centuries.

However, under Monaco’s Constitution, which was revised in 2002, only the “direct and legitimate” descendants of the sovereign can sit on the throne.

Yesterday, lawyers said that a child born out of wedlock would not be considered legitimate. “If his parents married subsequently, you might just about be able to make an argument that he has been legitimised, but it’s a fine legal balance,” one said.

Mme Coste, 33, told Paris Match that she had decided to make the disclosure so that “Alexandre can grow up like a normal child with a father. I want the lies to stop. I’m fed up with lying, with hiding myself and pretending to be (Albert’s) friend’s mistress.

“I just want him to assume some of his responsibilities. I’m not a gold-digger,” she added.

She alleges that she had had an affair with Prince Albert — the only son of Prince Rainier and the actress Grace Kelly — after they met on a flight from Paris to Nice in July 1997, when she was working for Air France. “Before landing, he asked for my phone number,” she said. For five years, she saw him once a month, she claims.

She said that the Prince had never hidden their affair, but that the relationship had soured after she had been introduced to Prince Rainier at a dinner in Monaco.

The next day, Mme Coste says, Prince Albert told her: “I think it’s better if we just stay friends.” In December 2002, they met again for a meal and ended up in bed, when Mme Coste, who already had two children, fell pregnant.

“Neither him nor me wanted that,” she said, adding that she had forgotten to take the pill because she had just returned from a long-haul flight to New York.

She said that at first the Prince told her: “Keep the child. I’ll look after it. You’ll never go without anything. I don’t promise to marry you, but keep the child and don’t worry. I’ll slowly get it accepted in my family.”

Then, when she was five months pregnant, he told her: “I’ve asked for advice. This child is impossible.” Later, he said: “You’ve trapped me.” After the birth, Prince Albert changed his tone, telling Mme Coste that he would “sort all the problems out”.

She claims that he pays her an allowance, that she lives in his flat in an expensive district of west Paris and that he regularly visits his son.

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