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Princess Grace of Monaco (1929-1982)
Prince Ranier III (1923-2005)
In Memoriam: Princess Grace of Monaco (1929-1982)
Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco died on September 14, 1982, at the age of 52 at the Monaco Hospital (now called The Princess Grace Hospital Center). The day before, Princess Grace had been driving her youngest child Princess Stephanie back to Monaco from their country home and apparently suffered a minor stroke which caused her to lose control of the car. The car, which had been traveling on winding roads, careened off a mountainside. Princess Grace suffered serious injuries and never regained consciousness. Although it was initially reported that Princess Stephanie received only minor injuries, she suffered a serious cervical fracture. After a requiem mass on September 18, 1982, at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Monaco, the princess was buried at the cathedral in the Grimaldi family vault.
Born Grace Patricia Kelly on November 12, 1929, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of John (Jack) Kelly, a self-made millionaire and the winner of three Olympic Gold Medals in sculling. To the dismay of her family, Grace pursued a career in acting which resulted in a successful film career. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress of 1954 for her role in “The Country Girl.”
In April of 1955, Grace met Prince Rainier III of Monaco at the Cannes Film Festival in France and a romance ensued. The couple was married in a civil ceremony that took place in the Palace Throne Room of Monaco on April 18, 1956. The religious ceremony took place the next day at Monaco’s St. Nicholas Cathedral.
Princess Grace and Prince Rainier had three children:
1) Princess Caroline Louise Marguerite, born in 1957
2) Prince Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre, born in 1958 and who succeeded his father as Prince Albert II in 2005
3) Princess Stephanie Marie Elisabeth, born in 1965
Links:
BBC On This Day: Hollywood Princess Dead
Princess Grace Foundation
In Memoriam: Prince Rainier III (1923-2005)
His Serene Highness Prince Rainier III of Monaco died on April 6, 2005, at the age of 81. Prince Rainier’s health during the last three years of his life had been declining. On March 7, 2005, the prince was hospitalized with a lung infection. Two weeks later, he was transferred to the intensive care unit, put on a ventilator, and diagnosed with kidney and heart failure. His condition continued to deteriorate. On March 31, 2005, his son Prince Albert became Regent because his father was no longer able to perform his duties. Prince Rainier was buried beside his wife Princess Grace on April 15, 2005, at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Monaco.
Prince Rainier was the son of Her Serene Highness Princess Charlotte of Monaco and Count Pierre de Polignac. Prince Rainier succeeded to the throne in 1949 upon the death of his paternal grandfather Prince Louis II. His mother, Princess Charlotte renounced her succession rights.
Prince Rainier married American Academy Award-winning actress Grace Kelly on April 18, 1956. Princess Grace died from injuries sustained in a car accident on September 14, 1982.
Prince Rainier and Princess Grace had three children:
1) Princess Caroline Louise Marguerite, born in 1957
2) Prince Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre, born in 1958 and who succeeded his father as Prince Albert II
3) Princess Stephanie Marie Elisabeth, born in 1965
Links:
BBC News | World | Europe | Monaco’s Prince Rainier, 81, dies
BBC News | World | Europe | Obituary: Prince Rainier III
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