Madonna is reportedly putting plans in place to start the adoption of another child from Africa if her appeal to adopt Mercy James from Malawi is turned down as expected.

Madonna succesfully adopted son David from Malawi in late 2006 but her request to adopt three year old girl Mercy from the country earlier this year was rejected after the judge ruled she did not meet the country’s residency requirement. The case is currently in appeal but it is unlikely to be overturned.

Now the star is said to be looking elsewhere in the continent for other children to adopt - and might name boyfriend Jesus Luz on the adoption papers so she is not adopting as a single mum.

A source told the News of the World: “She was distraught when her adoption failed in Malawi.

“At the time she blamed the fact that her relationship with Jesus made her look like she was going through some midlife crisis.

“But now she’s looking [again] and has got another female friend to make an initial approach to test the waters.

“She’s determined not to make the same mistakes and feels that the only way to do this is to get Jesus involved from the off.

“Failure is not an option. Madonna wouldn’t be able to take rejection for the second time.”

The source told the newspaper that she is paying particular attention to Nigeria and is has “some of the best legal minds working for her” to find a loophole in their three-month residency requirement but the Mail on Sunday has said she’s considering the kingdom of Lesotho after talking to Prince Harry about the country at a charity polo match in New York last weekend.

The Mail on Sunday’s source claims: “She has promised David a sister and she wants another African child. If a miracle happens and she gets to adopt Mercy, I see no reason why she wouldn’t go ahead and adopt another child from a different African country as well.

“She has done some research on Lesotho and because it’s a place that is ravaged by AIDS and has a high number of orphans, it could be the perfect second choice.”

Harry has visited the country, which is completely surrounded by South Africa, on a number of occasions and has set up a charity Sentebale to help children and young people there, particularly those suffering from or orphaned by AIDS.