WARRING Madonna and Guy Ritchie have called a truce in a bid to convince a social worker from Malawi that they are fit parents to their African son, the News of the World can reveal.
Pals say pop queen Madge, 49, and film director Guy, 38, are determined to present a united front because they are TERRIFIED their adopted boy David Banda could be taken off them.
From Tuesday the mega-rich celebrity couple will share their £7 million London mansion with African child welfare chief Penstone Kilembe who will spend TWO WEEKS investigating their suitability.
On his return to Malawi he will advise the country's High Court on whether or not they should be allowed to keep the 22-month-old lad.
The "home study" is the final hurdle in adopting David, who has been living in England since Madge plucked him from a Malawian orphanage last October.
A friend of the couple told us: "They're on tenterhooks waiting for this man to arrive in the UK.
"Things haven't been great in their marriage recently but they're determined to put on a good show for him. To send David back would be devastating and it's something they're determined to avoid at all costs."
Mr Kilembe's two weeks with the Ritchies will be a far cry from his life in the rundown city of Lilongwe in Malawi. He will stay in one of the eight lavishly decorated bedrooms in their six-storey townhouse in Marylebone where he'll meet the couple's new £2,000-a-month ‘manny'—a male nanny dedicated to looking after David round the clock.
The social worker will also be introduced to the rest of their staff who live in two mews houses yards from their front door.
During his 14-day stay the inspector plans to quiz the couple on areas such as alcohol consumption, infertility and divorce. And he will also judge how loving they are towards each other and to Madonna's daughter Lourdes, ten, and their son Rocco, seven.
Mr Kilembe told us: "I just want to make sure the child is happy and with a good family. I have met both Madonna and Guy Ritchie and they seem like nice people."
The visit comes just a week after Madonna finalised plans to adopt a second orphan from Malawi next year.
Madge hand-picked 13-month-old Mercy from a line-up of ten babies during a visit to an orphanage last October.
Originally the Malawi government ordered Mr Kilembe to make two visits. But the second had to be cancelled because officials couldn't afford airfares to the UK.
"Madonna and Guy are relieved they are only going to have to do this once," said their friend.
"They're determined to come across as a perfect little family unit and also show that they've got enough money to buy David every last thing he could ever need."
