The romance of Prince Albert of Monaco and former South African international swimmer Charlene Wittstock has been the hot topic on the slopes at the winter Olympic Games in Turin.

However, the 27-year-old former Commonwealth relay medallist, said: "No, we have no plans to marry", when the question was popped on the piste by the prying press.

The couple were seen cuddling at the opening ceremony in Turin and romance was clearly in Wittstock's heart. She said: "Turin is not only beautiful, its also very romantic, an ideal place for a lovers' holiday".

The Prince, 48, has been linked with many glamorous women during his courting days. His conquests include actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Brooke Shields and supermodels Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell. Four years ago it was reported that the Prince had proposed to his then girlfriend, blonde American athlete Alicia Warlick, but the couple never made it down the aisle.

The Prince, whose mother was the late Grace Kelly, American actress before becoming Princess Grace, and Wittstock first met at the Monte Carlo round of the 2001 Mare Nostrum tour, when the Prince treated Wittstock to a fairytale date.