
After a whirlwind courtship she married Prince Rainier III of Monaco on April 18, 1956 and in the following years gave the prince 3 children; Princess Caroline, Prince Albert and Princess Stephanie. She had some trouble giving up her career and adapting to life as a princess but to her credit she never let it show and always seemed the perfect consort and royal wife and mother. The marriage put Monaco on the map in many ways and a wave of fascination with the tiny Guelf enclave swept the USA who viewed the Monegasque Princely Family as partly their own forever after. Princess Grace was a great patroness of many charitable causes as well as being a tireless supporter for the performing arts. From her official duties to her tireless (and at times very stressful) support of her children and her style that was classy and conservative she seemed to set the bar for the ideal princess consort.

Toward the end of her life Princess Grace complained of frequent headaches. Many attributed it to stress, particularly to her rebellious daughters, Stephanie most especially, but these were probably mini-strokes. In 1982 while driving herself and Princess Stephanie back to Monaco from their country home Princess Grace had a massive stroke which caused a car crash. Stephanie was badly injured and Princess Grace died. Her funeral was star-studded and she left fairly well beloved by the whole world but her family would never be the same again. Prince Rainier III never remarried as some thought he would. When pressed on the subject he would point to Grace's portrait and say, 'who could ever take her place?' Rainier believed that match had been divinely arranged. Prior to meeting Grace he had gone on pilgrimage to Lourdes to pray for a good wife. Hardly a year later he married Princess Grace who later mentioned to the family confessor that at the age of 12 at her confirmation she had taken St Bernadette, the visionary of Lourdes, as her patron saint.
Thank you for this tribute to this lovely lady.
ReplyDeleteYou're most welcome. Princess Grace was in a class by herself; a princess who truly lived up to her name imho.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, God rest her soul.
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