Charlene ignored wedding gossip

Los Angeles - Monaco's Princess Charlene has said she finds suggestions that she was reluctant to marry Prince Albert "hilarious".

The former South African Olympic swimmer - who was said to have had her passport seized before her nuptials this summer after trying to flee the principality - says she "ignored" the furore surrounding her wedding, which also saw her husband forced to take a paternity test to determine if he was the father of an illegitimate child.

Speaking on the Today show, she said: "Why would we go to all this effort, to have this fantastic couple of days, and have our most intimate and dearest friends come and join us, for us to be reluctant. You know, for me, it just sounded hilarious.

PHOTOS: Albert and Charlene's big day

"I think I kind of went into Olympic mode there. I was in the zone, and I don't think anything was affecting me at that time. Obviously there were a lot of things going on at the time, I just ignored them and concentrated on what that day meant to the two of us."

It's behind us now

Albert added: "It is behind us now, and I hope it'll never come back."

The 53-year-old royal - who is the son of Prince Rainier III and Hollywood actress Grace Kelly - thinks the stories came about as a result of "jealousy" that the couple were happy, while Charlene believes the "negativity" surrounding the wedding was intended to sell magazines.

Albert said: "I think there were, you know, part jealousy, part, people that were envious or did not like the fact that we were finally coming together and marrying.

Speaking to his wife, he explained: "I thought I paid attention to you, smiled at you many times - but maybe that's not enough for some people."

The blonde beauty added: "There was also a wonderful opportunity for them to ride on something. A negative spin, because people would buy the magazines, or listen to all the negativity."