( CNN ) -- Monaco 's Royal Palace on Wednesday denied a published report that Prince Albert 's bride-to-be , Charlene Wittstock , discovered information about the prince and tried to flee to her native South Africa but was stopped by police . `` The Royal Palace formally denies the false allegations published on the site www.lexpress.fr , '' the palace statement said , pointing out that the report was published `` just days before the wedding ceremony between S.A.S . Prince Albert and Miss Charlene Wittstock . '' `` The sole intention of these rumors is to seriously damage the image of the Sovereign , as a result of damaging that of Miss Wittstock , and bear down on this happy event , '' the statement concluded . Albert 's adviser , Christiane Stahl , told CNN affiliate BFM-TV that the two were inititally `` completely disappointed '' by the story . `` Then , they were hurt , but not for long because they know , especially the prince , that rumors are part of his life . But I think that among all of what he has heard , this one was more hurtful than others because it is damaging and the purpose of this rumor is to damage a happy event , his wedding . '' The French news magazine L'Express reported Tuesday that a `` shaken '' Wittstock made a hasty departure to Nice Airport where she intended to board a one-way flight to South Africa , having discovered several hours before that the private life of her fiance was `` not as exemplary as she imagined . '' Sources were not named in the unsigned article . L'Express also reported that Wittstock , a former Olympic swimmer , was stopped by airport officials and that it took intense persuasion from Albert and his entourage to get her to stay and agree to go through with the marriage . The 53-year-old prince and ruler of Monaco , the only son of Princess Grace and the late Prince Rainier , has never married . In 2005 , Albert publicly acknowledged having fathered a son with a flight attendant , and he has also acknowledged a daughter , now in her late teens . The couple appeared contented Tuesday afternoon , when they were seen walking arm-in-arm along Monaco 's Port Hercule , accompanied by musician Jean-Michel Jarre , who is to perform Friday evening as part of the wedding celebrations . The lavish event is to take place over three days beginning on Friday , with a guest list that includes French President Nicolas Sarkozy , British model Naomi Campbell , fashion designer Giorgio Armani and British business mogul Richard Branson . Monaco , a sovereign principality , is one of the smallest countries in the world , measuring just under 2 square miles . It sits on the French Riviera and is bordered on three sides by France . It has a population of about 33,000 .
NEW : Albert 's adviser on the story : ` ` They were happy , but not for long '' Monaco 's Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock are to be married this weekend . French news managine reported she tried to flee to her native South Africa . She reported she thought Albert 's life was ` ` not as exemplary as she thought ''