Happy, relaxed and in love: Albert and Charlene. For all the latest Big Day info: www.rivieratimes.com (or go directly to: http://bit.ly/jQi60K). © Palais Princier

The Hôtel de Paris and the Hermitage are already fully booked. All other hotels in the Principality were 90 per cent full by the end of May. 550 Monegasque policemen will be ready to ensure that everything goes without a hitch and the budget for the whole wedding is 4 million euros.

That's a lot of figures to compute, and the logistics involved are so complex as to be almost incomprehensible. In the midst of all the hype is a couple about to be married: and who asked the bride- and groom-to-be how they were feeling? The Riviera Times.

"Voici, les ennemis!" Charlene Wittstock says with a big smile. It is us - a handful of journalists from the local press - who she is jokingly referring to as 'the enemy'. In doing so she shows us a flash of the sense of humour that will be key in her success in her future role as princess.

She greets us in the beautiful gardens of the palace, where her fiancé, Prince Albert II, and his sisters, Caroline and Stephanie, played when they were children. There are several seating areas and we must choose one, chairs need to be arranged for the party and Charlene does not wait to be served, perfectly happy to get her own.

This down-to-earth nature and effortless charm, with no trace of anything artificial, is what immediately strikes you about the character of the still Miss Wittstock. Everybody is immediately won over by her.

Clearly unfazed by the public interest in her private life, she happily tells us about jogging to Cap d'Ail three times a week, about her fitness program in the palace and about her hikes to La Turbie.

"I don't want to reveal too much of my jogging route though,” she adds with a laugh, “ because if I do I will meet too many people there afterwards!"

In a pastel blue dress and a silver-grey jacket, most likely Armani, she has on an outfit that brings out the blue of her eyes, shows her slender frame and highlights her simple accessories - a pair of earrings and an engagement ring.

Finally, Prince Albert joins us. He gives his wife-to-be a kiss and tenderly touches her waist for a second, a brief, reassuring squeeze. They are gestures full of love and affection, signs of intimacy.

So, with her life about to change in an unimaginable way, does Charlene plan to divide her time between her native South Africa and Monaco once she becomes a princess? No," she replies firmly, "my home now is in Monaco. It will be the country of our children. My roots though are in South Africa."

The waiter comes with mignardises and drinks; Charlene doesn't take anything, choosing to stick with mineral water. With the Big Day only a month a way, are they feeling stressed?

She laughs again. "He can answer that one…" she gestures to her fiancé, Albert stretches his arms out in front him, "See? They don't shake!" It's true, if the stillness of his hands are anything to go by, he is not feeling any pressure yet. "Honestly we are not stressed," he continues, "but we are really looking forward to celebrating our wedding with as many people as possible, as well as our friends and family.

This is the reason why we have organised two concerts that everyone can go to, the Eagles on the 30th of June and Jean Michel Jarre on the 1st of July."

Charlene is nodding in agreement and they exchange a look of complicity.

But isn't the media hype surrounding the wedding quite exhausting? Now it is her turn to answer: "I don't give it much thought," she shrugs, "it's not important. I always try to be myself and not play a role. You can't please everyone. For us it is only important to transmit positive feelings."

HM/ PH