Madonna ‘to wed’ toyboy Luz in Kaballah ceremony

Fifty-year-old queen of pop Madonna is set to tie the knot with her 22-year-old boyfriend Jesus Luz in a Kabbalah ceremony. The news comes via the Brazilian male model's father, Luis Heitor Pinto da Luz. He told the magazine Quem: "The ceremony that will link up my son Jesus Luz and Madonna only confirms that he is extremely happy."

The wedding could take place in New York as early as this weekend, but it would not be legally binding, said Luz Snr. It would only be a symbolic ceremony signifying the couple's union.

It is possible, of course, that both Luz senior and junior have got the wrong end of the stick: neither speaks good English. The younger man's is reported to be poor enough that Madonna is spending $1,000 a week on language teachers. His father admits to having talked to Madonna on the phone in French because his English is not fluent.

Even if it is true that the couple are living together at her Central Park West apartment, a New York music producer who knows Madonna said it was highly unlikely she would take such a high-profile step in her affair during her ongoing legal battle to adopt the Malawian girl Mercy James. Her image as a good mum needs all the help it can get.

Meanwhile, Luz Snr is also keen to dispel the rumour that Madonna has his son on such a tight leash that he is not allowed to make phone calls within her presence. "She is calm, feminine," he said, after his chat with her on the phone. "I didn't feel any harshness." ·