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Monaco's Prince Albert to Marry Charlene Wittstock in July 2011

Prince Albert II of Monaco dances with girlfriend Charlene Wittstock during the Rose Ball in Monaco on Saturday, March 27, 2010. AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, Pool

PARIS (CBS/AP) The royal palace in Monaco says Prince Albert II will tie the knot with his future bride in July 2011.

Albert is engaged to Charlene Wittstock, a former Olympic swimmer from South Africa.

Pictures: Prince Albert II and Charlene Wittstock
Pictures: Power Weddings

The palace in the Riviera principality said Thursday that the two have set a date for a religious ceremony: July 9, 2011.

Sources told People magazine Thursday that plans call for the religious ceremony - which will be televised - to be held at Monaco's Notre Dame of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral.

Pictures: Prince Albert II
Pictures: Albert's Enthronement
Pictures: A Princely Birthday

A civil ceremony will take place the day earlier in the Throne Room of Monaco's Pink Palace, according to the report.

Alfred, 52, met the willowy blonde Wittstock, 32, during a 2000 swimming competition in Monaco. His betrothed has iconic shoes to fill, stepping into a role left vacant since the death of much-beloved Princess Grace in a car crash in 1982. The religious ceremony of Grace and Rainier in April 1956 was also televised live.

Pictures: The Prince and the Movie Star

The weekend surrounding the wedding celebrations will also mark the sixth year of Albert's reign over the principality.

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