Princess Charlene's new haircut is no longer the most scandalous thing happening in Monaco's royal family.
The princess turned heads when she debuted a partially shaved head. The public is now drawing parallels to her new do and the old notion that women change their hair when things are going wrong in their relationships.
On Friday, the Daily Mail reported that the Prince of Monaco was served with papers to appear in an Italian court in February 2021. Albert is the subject of a paternity suit by a Brazilian woman who claims he fathered her child in 2005.
The prince is currently a father of four. His oldest child is 28-year-old Jazmin Grace, who was the result of a three-week affair between Albert and American Tamara Rotolo in 1991.
In 2003, he fathered the son of then-flight attendant Nicole Coste after a casual affair that played out over years. At the time, he was already dating his wife, Princess Charlene.
Albert and Charlene also share 6-year-old twins, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella. If the latest allegations turn out to be true, the girl in question was also conceived after Charlene and Albert were already together.
Prince Albert is believed to have fathered a third love child. On Friday, the Daily Mail shared a report that a 34-year-old Brazilian woman has filed a paternity suit against the Prince of Monaco. She says the two had an affair in 2005 that resulted in the birth of her daughter.
The report claims that Albert received a handwritten letter from the child, who would now be 15 years old, in September.
"I don't understand why I grew up without a father, and now that I have found you, you don't want to see me," she wrote.
Albert has been asked to take a DNA test, as in his past two paternity suits.
A source close to the royal household says that Princess Charlene, who began dating the prince in 2000, is not taking this well.
"This was before Charlene and Albert were an item, but the latest case covers a time when she was already in love with him," the source told the Daily Mail.
"Charlene has had a terrible year, with one family crisis after another including Albert going down with Coronavirus, and now she's gearing herself up for this hell."
Charlene was competing as an Olympic swimmer from South Africa when she met the prince in 2000. The two had a bit of a rocky relationship leading up to their 2011 wedding. They welcomed their twins, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, in 2014.
Charlene has stayed by Albert's side through many scandals, including his paternity suit involving Alexandre just before he was enthroned as Prince of Monaco. She's said to have forged good bonds between herself and Albert's older children in spite of everything. This time, that may prove more challenging.
Albert has not responded to correspondence from his alleged daughter. He's letting his legal team handle the matters, but he doesn't believe he's the child's father at this point. His lawyer, Thierry Lacoste, calls the accusation a "hoax."
"There are no intimate photos, no tangible facts surrounding a possible relationship," he said.
Charlene is known to be soft-spoken, so when she debuted a new haircut with a partially shaved head, many in the inner circles saw it as a call for help.
"It was said that Charlene got news of the child when she was being fitted for a bridal gown in Paris. The rumours subsided for a while, but now they have exploded again," a source close to Charlene noted.
In an interview with a South African magazine last year, Princess Charlene opened up about how life as a royal isn't always happy.
"People are very quick to say, 'Oh, why isn't she smiling in the photos?'" she noted.
"Well, sometimes it's hard to smile. They don't know what's going on in the background. I have the privilege of having this life, but I miss my family and my friends in South Africa and I'm often sad because I cannot always be there for them."
