Was Eddie Murphy’s wedding legal?

Comedy actor Eddie Murphy and his fiancee, film producer Tracey Edmonds, who flew to French Polynesia to tie the knot at a beach ceremony on New Year's Day, may not have been married legally, it transpires. According to a local lawyer, French law applies - which means that a couple must have lived in the area for 30 days before the ceremony. Murphy and and Edmonds flew in only the day before.

The lawyer, Malgras Benoit, said: "You need to have residence for at least 30 days - and this has not been the case. If you want to get married in Paris you have to live in Paris for at least one month."

He said there can be exceptions to the 30-day rule, but only if the marriage takes place in a town hall in front of the local mayor. This would not apply in the case of a beach marriage conducted by a local priest. (Continued below)

Murphy, 46, was divorced last year from his first wife Nicole, with whom he had five children. He also has fathered a daughter with Spice Girls singer Melanie Brown.

According to People magazine, the marriage took place in front of 25 family and friends an islet near Bora Bora island. A Hollywood event organiser flew in beforehand to organise the construction of a gazebo from 6,000 shells and Edmonds, 40, walked barefoot down the 'aisle' to Gladys Knight's The Makings of You.