Charlene left Monaco - Dad

Monaco - Charlene Wittstock did leave Monaco this week, for a day of shopping with her mother in Paris ahead of her wedding to Prince Albert II this weekend, her father said in a newspaper on Thursday.

Press reports have suggested that Charlene had learned of some secret from Albert's private life and decided to head home to South Africa, only to be intercepted by royal aides and persuaded to stay on.

"I heard about this (rumour) the first time this morning, and I'm very surprised," Mike Wittstock told South Africa's Times newspaper in an interview on Wednesday.

"The only thing I can think it was, is that Charlene took her mom to Paris on Monday to get shoes and a hat for the wedding, and that's the only time she was anywhere near an airplane and she was there for the day and back," he said.

Mike Wittstock also called Albert "a very easy-going, humble guy".

Prince Albert is to wed the statuesque South African swimming champ in successive civil then religious ceremonies on July 1 and 2.