Monaco's prince, new bride hold religious ceremony in palace courtyard

A day after tying the knot in a civil ceremony, Monaco's ruler and his South African bride took part in a religious ceremony at the prince's palace Saturday to reaffirm their union.

The event kicked off the second day of festivities in the small seaside nation of 33,000, where a holiday has been declared to celebrate the wedding of Charlene Wittstock, a former Olympic swimmer, and Prince Albert.

The 3,500 guests -- which include 20 heads of state, fellow royals and a number of moguls and celebrities -- began to arrive hours earlier Saturday afternoon at the palace, the same place where one day earlier the couple's civil ceremony had taken place.

They walked through Palace Square into the courtyard, passing hundreds of onlookers who followed the nuptials on a pair of giant screens.

The last one to stroll the carpet, just before 5 p.m., was Wittstock herself.

Archbishop Bernard Barsi conducted the Roman Catholic ceremony under partly cloudy skies, with temperatures forecast to be around 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

After the ceremony ends, the new princess will leave her bouquet at the Sainte Devote church and join her new husband for a public procession through the city streets.

This will be followed by an official dinner crafted by celebrity chef Alain Ducasse and fireworks outside the Opera de Monte Carlo.

The event has galvanized the attention of thousands around the world, whose fascination with Monaco's royalty blossomed with the April 1956 wedding of Prince Ranier III and Hollywood movie star Grace Kelly