Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi;[1] 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) wasPrince of Monaco from 1949 tohis death in 2005. Rainier ruled thePrincipality of Monaco for almost 56 years.
Rainiermarried American film starGrace Kelly in 1956, which generated global media attention. They had three children:Caroline,Albert andStéphanie. Rainier died in April 2005 from complications relating to a lung infection compromised by years ofcigarette smoking; he was succeeded by his son, Albert II.
In 1944, the day before his 21st birthday, Rainier's mother renounced her right to the Monegasque throne and Rainier became Prince Louis's direct heir. InWorld War II, Rainier joined theFree French Army in September 1944, and served under GeneralJoseph de Goislard de Monsabert as asecond lieutenant. As a soldier, he witnessed action during theGerman counter-offensive inAlsace. Rainier received the FrenchCroix de Guerre with bronze star (representing a brigade level citation) and was given the rank ofLegion of Honor in 1947. Following his decommission from theFrench Army, he was promoted by the French government to captain in April 1949 and colonel in December 1954.[2]
Rainier became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco at the age of 25 upon the death of his maternal grandfather, Prince Louis II, on 9 May 1949.[2]
After ascending the throne, Rainier III worked to recoup Monaco's lustre, which had become tarnished through financial neglect and scandal (his mother, Princess Charlotte, took a noted jewel thief known as René the Cane as her lover). Upon ascension, the Prince found a treasury that was practically empty. Monaco's traditional gambling clientele, largely European aristocrats, found themselves with reduced funds after World War II. Other successful gambling centres had opened to compete with Monaco. To compensate for the loss of income, Rainier decided to promote Monaco as atax haven, commercial centre, real-estate development opportunity, and international tourist attraction.[4] The early years of his reign saw the overweening involvement of the Greek shipping tycoonAristotle Onassis, who took control of theSociété des Bains de Mer and envisioned Monaco as solely a gambling resort. Prince Rainier regained control of SBM in 1964, effectively ensuring that his vision of Monaco would be implemented.[4]
During his reign, theSocieté Monégasque de Banques et de Métaux Précieux, a bank which held a significant amount of Monaco's capital, was bankrupted by its investments in a media company in 1955, leading to the resignation of Monaco's cabinet. In 1962, Rainier ratified the Principality's new constitution, which significantly reduced the power of the sovereign.[5] He had suspended the previous constitution in 1959, saying that it "has hindered the administrative and political life of the country". The changes ended autocratic rule, placing power with both the Prince and a National Council of eighteen elected members.[6]
In the 1940s and 1950s, Rainier had a ten-year relationship with the French film actressGisèle Pascal, whom he had met while a student at Montpellier University,[3] and the couple lived at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.[citation needed] Rainier's sister,Princess Antoinette, wishing her own son to ascend the throne, spread rumors that Pascal was infertile. The rumours combined with a snobbery over Pascal's family origins ultimately ended the relationship.[9]
Rainier established a postal museum in 1950: theMuseum of Stamps and Coins, in Monaco'sFontvieille district[10] by using the collections of the Monegasque princesAlbert I andLouis II. The prestigious philatelic collectors organization, Club de Monte-Carlo de l'Élite de la Philatélie, was established in 1999 under his direct patronage. The club is headquartered at the postal museum, and its membership restricted to institutions and one hundred prestigious collectors.[11] Rainier organized exhibitions of rare and exceptional postage stamps and letters with the club's members.[11]
Throughout his reign, Rainier surveyed all the process of creation of Monaco stamps. He preferred stamps printed inintaglio and the art of engraversHenri Cheffer andCzesław Słania.[10]
The Prince metAcademy Award–winning actressGrace Kelly, in 1955, during a photocall at the Palace scheduled to support her trip to theCannes Film Festival. After a year-long courtship described as containing "a good deal of rational appraisal on both sides," Prince Rainier married Kelly in 1956.[13]
The union was met with mass attention from the public, and was described as the "wedding of the century" and the "world's most anticipated wedding" by the media. The civil ceremony took place at the Palace on 18 April, with the religious wedding being held on 19 April at theSaint Nicholas Cathedral. Rainier wore a military dress of his own design, based on the uniforms ofNapoleon Bonaparte. Presided over by Bishop Gilles Barthe, the marriage was broadcast byMGM Studios, and viewed by over 30 million people across the globe. The couple honeymooned in theMediterranean on their yacht,Deo Juvante II.
Princess Grace gave birth to their first child,Princess Caroline, on 23 January 1957. Their second child and heir,Prince Albert, was born on 14 March 1958. Their youngest,Princess Stéphanie, was born 1 February 1965, with all children having been delivered at the Palace.
In 1979, the Prince made his acting debut alongside the Princess in a half-hour independent film,Rearranged, produced in Monaco. After its premiere in Monaco, Princess Grace showed it toABC TV executives, in New York in 1982, who expressed interest if extra scenes were shot. Later that year, Grace died in a car crash caused by acerebral hemorrhage, making it impossible to expand the film for an American release.[14][15][16] After Grace's death, Rainier refused to remarry.[17] He established thePrincess Grace Foundation-USA in 1982 in her honor, to support fledging American artists.
Prince Rainier III(middle) with his son Albert(left) in 1998The tomb of Prince Rainier III at theCathedral of Our Lady ImmaculateLife-size bronze statue of Prince Rainier III by Dutch sculptorKees Verkade
Rainier smoked sixty cigarettes a day.[17] In the last years of his life his health progressively declined. He underwent surgery in late 1999 and 2000, and was hospitalized in November 2002 for a chest infection. He spent three weeks in hospital in January 2004 for what was described as general fatigue.[18] In February 2004, he was hospitalized with a coronary lesion and a damaged blood vessel.[19] In October of that year, he was again in hospital with a lung infection. His son, Hereditary Prince Albert, later appeared onCNN'sLarry King Live and toldLarry King that his father was fine, though he was suffering frombronchitis.[20]
On 7 March 2005, he was again hospitalized for a lung infection. On 22 March, he was then moved to the hospital's intensive care unit. The following day, it was announced he was on aventilator, suffering fromrenal and heart failure. On 26 March, the palace reported that despite intensive ongoing efforts to improve the prince's health, he was continuing to deteriorate; however, on 27 March, he was reported to be conscious, his heart and kidney conditions having stabilized. His prognosis remained "very reserved".[21]
On 31 March 2005, following consultation with theCrown Council of Monaco, thePalais Princier announced that Hereditary Prince Albert would take over the duties of his father asregent since Rainier was no longer able to exercise his princely functions.[22] On 1 April 2005, the Palace announced that Rainier's doctors believed his chances of recovery were "slim".[23] On 6 April, Prince Rainier III died at theCardiothoracic Centre of Monaco at 6:35 am local time at the age of 81. His son subsequently became the new Prince of Monaco as Albert II.[24]
^ab"Museums".Why 100 of the world's top collectors will be in Monaco this weekend. Paul Fraser Collectibles. Archived fromthe original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved4 August 2014.
^"Monaco Cathedral". Service Informatique du Ministère d'Etat (Monaco Minister of State Information Service). 28 July 2008. Archived fromthe original on 23 June 2008. Retrieved18 August 2008.
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