Monaco royal twins are baptised in the Catholic church
Prince
Albert II of Monaco, left, and his wife Princess Charlene leave with
their twins babies Princess Gabriella, left, and Prince Jacques, right,
after their baptism ceremony.
Photo / AP
Monaco's five-month old royal twins, crown prince Jacques and his
sister Gabriella, have been baptised in the Catholic church of the tiny
principality.
Prince Albert II of Monaco and his wife Princess Charlene pose after the baptism ceremony of their twins.
Photo / AP The babies did not protest as Archbishop Bernard Barsi bathed their heads in water.
Prince
Albert II held in his arms Gabriella, who was the first twin born on
December 11, while his Zimbabwe-born wife Princess Charlene held Jacques
throughout the ceremony in the cathedral bedecked with 6000 white
flowers.
Prince Albert II of Monaco and his
wife Princess Charlene pose with their twins babies Princess Gabriella,
left, and Prince Jacques, right.
Photo / AP Both babies were dressed in long baptism robes by Baby Dior.
After
the ceremony, which concluded with a message from Pope Francis, the
couple walked back to the nearby Prince's Palace.Surrounded by
traditional dancers they greeted friends, residents and tourists along
the way, having handed the babies to their nannies.
Jacques - who despite being the second born is the first
in line to the throne under Monaco succession laws - will on Sunday be
decorated with the Grand Cross of the Order of Grimaldi.
Princess Gabriella will receive the Grand Officer of the Order of Grimaldi decoration.
For
the crown prince, the godparents were chosen from Albert's side of the
family, while Gabriella's godmother is Charlene's brother and her
godmother, Nerine Pienaar - wife of Francois Pienaar, former captain of
the rugby team of South Africa, where Charlene spent her youth.
The baby twins were born December 10 just a couple of minutes apart and are the first and second in line to the throne.
Photo / AP Albert, who was once considered one of the world's
most eligible bachelors, succeeded his father Prince Rainier in 2005 at
the age of 47.
He already had a daughter, Jazmin Grace, 22, after a fling with former waitress Tamara Rotolo.
He denied being her father for years before DNA tests proved otherwise when she was already a teenager.
Monaco has welcomed with joy the baptism of the principality's five-month-old royal baby twins.
Photo / AP The prince also has a younger son, Alexandre Coste, 11, from an affair with Nicole Coste, a Togolese former Air France hostess.
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