Monaco prince stricken by illness

Prince Ernst-August of Hanover, husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, has been taken into intensive care with an acute pancreatic disorder, two days after the death of his father-in-law, Prince Rainier III.

Prince Ernst-August of Hanover, husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, has been taken into intensive care with an acute pancreatic disorder, two days after the death of his father-in-law, Prince Rainier III.

Doctors at the Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco described his condition as "serious but not irreversible". A statement said he needed "round-the-clock medical attention" but denied he was in a coma. The 51-year-old prince was taken to hospital on Monday with a severe attack of pancreatitis, a disease commonly associated with heavy drinking.

In 2000, Prince Ernst-August, a bon viveur, was taken to hospital in 2000 in Germany, and treated for an undisclosed illness. The prince regularly makes tabloid headlines in his native Germany. In 1998, he was fined €40,000 (£28,000) for breaking the nose of a cameraman at his home in Hanover.

He is Princess Caroline's third husband. Her previous husband, Stefan Casiraghi, was killed in a boat accident 15 years ago. The couple have a daughter, Alexandra, five.