Italian princess clarifies 'close friendship' with Denmark's Prince Christian amid engagement rumours

An Italian princess at the centre of engagement rumours with Prince Christian has issued a statement about her "close friendship" with the Danish royal.

The 18-year-old has been linked with Prince Christian, 17, for some months after they were pictured at the Monaco Grand Prix in May.

Now, Princess Maria Chiara of Bourbon Two Sicilies has taken to social media to clarify the rumours saying "while we all enjoy dreaming of fairytales, what truly matters is reality".

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Her statement comes weeks after an Australian magazine printed unsubstantiated claims that she and Prince Christian were on the brink of announcing their engagement.

The story alleged Prince Christian had reportedly introduced Princess Chiara to his grandmother Queen Margrethe II.

Now, Chiara has chosen address the rumours to her 88k followers on Instagram.

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"I would like to set the records straight with regards to the unfounded rumour that has been circulating about me," Princess Chiara wrote.

"Prince Christian and I share a close friendship.

"However, some inaccurate information has been disseminated. At first, this situation made me smile; however, over time, this rumour has exceeded the limits of common sense and has spiralled becoming at odds with reality.

"I believe it is now time to put an end to this rumour. When important events will occur in my life, I will be happy to share them with you.

"While we all enjoy dreaming of fairytales, what truly matters is reality".

The comments have been turned off on the post, which was shared early on Wednesday morning in Australia.

Prince Christian, who is heir to Denmark's throne after his father Crown Prince Frederik, has not commented on the rumours nor has the Danish royal household.

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Princess Chiara is the youngest daughter of Prince Carlo, the Duke of Castro, and his wife Princess Camilla and she lives between Paris, Monte Carlo and Rome.

Prince Carlo is a godparent of Princess Josephine, Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik's youngest daughter.

The Italian noble family, the House of Bourbon Two Sicilies, reigned over part of Italy until unification in 1861.

Since then the family has been without a throne but are fixtures on the international royal and social circuit.

Prince Christian will turn 18 on October 15 with celebrations taking place in Copenhagen for the milestone.

His birthday will be marked by a changing of the guard at Amalienborg Palace, to be followed by a balcony appearance by the royal family.

Later that evening, at 5pm, Prince Christian will be the guest of honour at a gala banquet to be held inside the nearby Christianborg Palace with other young royals and his friends expected to be on the guest list.