BBC ON THIS DAY | 19 | 1956: Prince Rainier marries Grace Kelly 1956: Prince Rainier marries Grace Kelly Prince Rainier III of Monaco has married the American film actress Grace Kelly. The religious ceremony follows yesterday's civil ceremony held in the throne room in the Palace of Monaco. The celebration of the Nuptial Mass was held in the Cathedral of Monaco. Miss Kelly looked every bit the film star in her ivory gown made of silk taffeta and lace. The couple did not look at each other during the ceremony, but sat, stood and knelt facing the high altar as instructed by Monsignor Marella, the Papal Legate from Paris. They spoke their vows so quietly that it was hard to tell whether they made them in English or French, the national language of Monaco. At the end of the ceremony, a message was read out from the Pope. Then the couple drove through the streets of Monte Carlo in an open-top car, waving to thousands of well-wishers.

The couple, who announced their engagement in January, are spending their honeymoon cruising around the Mediterranean aboard Prince Rainier's yacht, Deo Juvante II - out of the public eye for the first time in months. Nervous bride Yesterday's civil ceremony, conducted by the president of the Monaco Supreme Court, was attended by the couple's close family and friends. In Monaco, as in France, a civil marriage must take place before a religious ceremony. Miss Kelly, wearing a beige, lace dress with a close-fitting hat, was noticeably nervous throughout the proceedings. Following the legal formalities the couple made a short appearance on the balcony of the palace where approximately 500 members of the public waited below. The newly-married couple, surrounded by an abundance of red and white flowers, waved to the crowds for a few minutes before going back inside.

Iconic weddings: Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco Iconic weddings: Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco April 20, 2010 How they met The fairytale romance between Hollywood beauty Grace Kelly and her handsome prince, Rainier III of Monaco, began in May 1955 when the silver screen star was invited to the royal palace during the Cannes Film Festival to be photographed with the eligible bachelor for a magazine spread. At the time Grace was 26 years old and the prince 32. Engagement Eight months later, in January 1956, it was announced that Grace and Prince Rainier were engaged to be married. The handsome royal proposed with a beautiful Cartier 12-carat emerald-cut diamond ring, which Grace can be seen wearing in the aptly named film High Society – her final screen performance before becoming a princess. Rainier also presented his bride-to-be with a friendship band embellished with rubies and diamonds. The wedding In Monaco, as in France, a civil marriage must take place before a religious ceremony, and so Grace and Rainier held two weddings.

On April 18, 1956, the couple were legally wed in the baroque throne room in the Palace of Monaco in a ceremony attended by their close family and friends. Grace wore a beige lace dress and hat, and after exchanging their vows, husband and wife made a brief appearance on the palace's balcony to wave to the 500 members of the public waiting below. The next day at 9.30am, Grace and Rainier held a religious ceremony at the Cathedral of Monaco, attended by around 600 guests and watched by an estimated 30 million on television. After the event – dubbed the 'Wedding of the Century' – the newlyweds drove through the streets of Monte Carlo in an open-top Rolls-Royce – a gift from the people of Monaco – to wave to the thousands of well-wishers. Notable guests at the religious ceremony included Cary Grant, Aristotle Onassis, Ava Gardner and David Niven. The dress Truly fit for a princess, Grace's wedding gown was a gift from the MGM film studios and was designed by Helen Rose who worked on it for six weeks with three dozen seamstresses.

The dress, featuring a high collar and long sleeves, had a fitted bodice and voluminous skirt and was made of silk taffeta, tulle and 125-year-old Brussels rose point lace. On her head she wore a Juliet cap decorated with orange blossoms and a veil that was reportedly 90 yards long. Grace carried a small bible and a bridal bouquet of lilies of the valley, and was attended by six bridesmaids, all in yellow silk organdy dresses. Among them was her sister Peggy, who acted as matron of honour. She also had six junior attendants who were all dressed in white. Her groom wore a military uniform he designed himself for the occasion. Reception To celebrate their union, the newlyweds held a special luncheon at the Palace's Court of Honour attended by 700 guests, where the bride and groom cut their six-tier wedding cake using the prince's sword. The previous day, after the couple's civil ceremony, they hosted a reception for the 3,000 citizens of Monaco to give each the opportunity to shake hands with their new princess.

Honeymoon Now titled Her Serene Highness, Princess Grace and Prince Rainier set sail for a honeymoon cruise around the Mediterranean on board the Deo Juvante II – the groom's wedding gift to his new bride. Click here to see news coverage of Grace and Rainier's wedding. Grace Kelly, Prince Rainier: Photos From the 'Wedding of the Century' SHARE Photos of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III, from the time of the announcement of their engagement until their April 1956 'wedding of the century' in Monaco. Before William and Kate, before Charles and Di, before Liz and Dick (I and II), before any of the “storybook” weddings of the past several decades, there was the fairytale wedding of the last century: the April 1956 nuptials of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

The tale of the American movie star and Philadelphia native marrying the prince of a small, sensationally wealthy city-state was simply too perfect to ignore — and for months leading up to the event, from the time of the couple’s engagement until the two ceremonies (civil and religious) that formalized their union, the Hollywood princess and the real-life prince were hardly ever out of the news. Here, LIFE.com presents photos — many of which never ran in LIFE magazine — from the moment the couple announced their engagement in January 1956 until they were married three and a half months later in Monaco . In an issue published a few weeks after the wedding, LIFE framed the singular phenomenon for the magazine’s millions of readers: Largely ignored throughout its long history, the pint-sized principality of Monaco last week enjoyed a beautiful modern recognition. Grace Kelly, daughter of a millionaire former hod carrier [in short, a construction laborer] from Philadelphia and the virtual princess of moviedom’s make-believe world, was getting married there. She was becoming a princess officially by her marriage to Monaco’s Prince Rainier, who holds 139 other titles and is absolute ruler of a 370-acre realm with 20,000 subjects.

Throughout the palpitant anxieties which are the lot of every bride, Miss Kelly was everything the enthusiastic Monegasques could have wished. She had to go through two weddings, separately required by the Napoleonic Code of Monaco and the laws of the Roman Catholic Church. . . . [After the first she assumed the title] Her Serene Highness, Princess Gracia Patricia of Monaco. [During the second] she became a wife indeed when she helped the nervous Prince Rainier settle the ring on her finger. And so an old-style fairy tale came to its appropriately romantic conclusion, but only after a number of modern day variations and additions had come to pass. The princess-to-be had barley set foot in Monaco when the principality and much of the rest of Europe were there bearing gifts. The wedding presents ranged from the fabulous to the foolish. Among the more practical was a Rolls-Royce, among the less useful a gold and bone hatchet. All the loose wealth gathered there acted magnetically on Europe’s thieves. $50,000 worth of jewels swiped from the wife of a pal of Grace’s father . . . $8,000 in gems lifted from the hotel room of one of the bridesmaids.

After their wedding, Monaco’s newlyweds wasted no time starting a family: Nine months and four days later, Grace gave birth to Princess Caroline, their first of three children. The couple was married for 26 years, until the princess’ death in 1982 from injuries sustained in a car accident. The prince, who never remarried and who died in 2005, is buried beside his wife in the Grimaldi family vault, inside the Monaco cathedral where they wed. Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizabethRonk . Grace Kelly & Prince Rainier III of Monaco are married by Monaco's Bishop Gilles Barthe | Grace Kelly: her amazing life in pictures - Photography Photography Previous slide Next slide 18 of 42 View All Skip Ad Grace Kelly, the Fifties film star who became a princess, was born in 1929. After making her name in films such as High Noon, Rear Window and To Catch a Thief, she married Prince Rainier III of Monaco on April 19 1956 and retired from acting.

She died in a car crash in 1982 after suffering a stroke while driving. 1948: American actress Grace Kelly and her sister Elizabeth wish their brother, Olympic medal-winning rower John B Kelly Jnr, good luck at Henley Royal Regatta, Henley-on-Thames Credit: Evening Standard/Getty Images A 1950s portrait of US actress Grace Kelly. Between 1950 and 1953, the young actress appeared on stage and in live TV productions. Credit: Rex Grace Kelly (1929-1982), is shown in this portrait from the early 1950s. In 1951 she made her little-noticed film debut in the film 'Fourteen Hours', but stardom would have to wait another two years. Credit: Getty Images 1953: Ava Gardner, Clark Gable and Grace Kelly in 'Mogambo'. This film won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Credit: Everett Collection / Rex Features/Everett Collection / Rex Features 1954: James Stewart and Grace Kelly in 'Rear Window' Credit: Moviestore Collection / Rex Features Grace Kelly on the set of 'To Catch A Thief', some of which was filmed on the riviera, where she met Prince Rainier of Monaco Credit: Keystone/Getty Images Grace Kelly on the set of To Catch A Thief Credit: Rex 30 March 1955: Presenter Bette Davis poses with Marlon Brando, winner of the Best Actor Academy Award for On the Waterfront, and Grace Kelly, who won Best Actress for The Country Girl Credit: Everett Collection / Rex Features 5 January 1956: Prince Rainier III of Monaco and his fiancee Grace Kelly show her mother her engagement ring at the Philadelphia county club where the Kellys announced the engagement of their daughter and the prince Credit: AFP/Getty 23 February 1956: US actor Gregory Peck is flanked by Grace Kelly (R), awarded Favourite Actress for "Henrietta" and Jean Simmons, named Best Actress in a Musical Comedy during the 10th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Hollywood Credit: AFP/Getty Grace Kelly in her final

 film High Society (1956) 27 February 1956: A dummy of the stamp to be issued by Monaco Stamp Office for the wedding of Prince Rainier with US actress Grace Kelly, to be held 19 April 1956 Credit: AFP/Getty/AFP/Getty Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco, pictured in the 1950s Credit: REx 12 April 1956: Prince Rainier III of Monaco and his fiancee US actress Grace Kelly are all smiles aboard his yacht Deo Juvante II in Monte Carlo's harbour, as Grace Kelly arrives from the USA for their wedding ceremony Credit: AFP/Getty/AFP/Getty 19 April 1956: A close-up of Grace Kelly during her wedding ceremony with Prince Rainier of Monaco Credit: AFP/Getty 19 April 1956: Grace Kelly on her wedding day Credit: Rex/Rex 19 April 1956: Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco are married by Monaco's Bishop Gilles Barthe Credit: AFP/Getty 19 April 1956: Prince Rainier III of Monaco and US actress and Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly are seen during their

 wedding lunch Credit: AFP/Getty Prince Rainier placing the wedding ring of Princess Grace's finger during the marriage service in Monaco Cathedral.

Credit: AP Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco during their wedding ceremony in Monaco on April 19, 1956 Credit: AFP/Getty Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly, pictured during their wedding service at Monaco Cathedral Credit: AP Prince Rainier III of Monaco and US actress and princess of Monaco Grace Kelly salute the crowd as they leave Monaco's Saint Nicholas Cathedral after their wedding ceremony Credit: AFP/Getty Prince Rainier III of Monaco and US actress and princess of Monaco Grace Kelly after their wedding ceremony Credit: AP Prince Rainier and Princess Grace wave after their wedding Credit: Everett Collection / Rex Features/Everett Collection / Rex Features Prince Rainier of Monaco and Grace Kelly at the ceremony for the arrival of USS Constellation in November 1956 Credit: Rex 13 March 1957: Prince Rainier and Princess Grace walk down a street in Lausanne, followed by residents.

The couple had just arrived there for a few days of holiday shortly after the birth of Princess Caroline Credit: AFP/Getty/AFP/Getty 19 April 1958: Prince Rainier of Monaco (holding their daughter Caroline) and Princess Grace present their new-born son Albert to residents of the principality from the balcony of the palace, a day before the baptism of the child Credit: AFP/Getty/AFP/Getty 29 October 1959: Princess Grace and Prince Rainier III of Monaco and their two children, Princess Caroline, 3, and 19-month-old Prince Albert, leave a hotel in Saulieu en route to Monaco Credit: AFP/Getty 19 April 1966: Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco chat at the Maestranza bullfight in Seville Credit: AFP/Getty 1969: A formal family portrait at the palace in Monaco Credit: Forum Press / Rex Features/ Forum Press / Rex Features 1969: Sophia Loren and Princess Grace attend a fancy dress ball in the Casino of Monte Carlo Credit: Sipa Press / Rex Features 1972: Princess Grace holidays with Princesses Caroline and Stephanie Credit: SIPA PRESS / Rex Features 29 November 1

973: Princess Grace of Monaco attends a dinner reception in Versailles Credit: AFP/Getty 1973: Princess Grace and Prince Rainier pose with their children Caroline, Albert and Stephanie at the Grimaldi Palace Credit: FORUM PRESS / Rex Features/FORUM PRESS / Rex Features 1979: Prince Rainier of Monaco and his wife Princess Grace relax at Roc Agel, their summer residence near Monaco Credit: AFP/Getty/AFP/Getty 15 May 1980: Princess Grace of Monaco faces cameras while she arrives to attend a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock at the 33rd Cannes Film Festival Credit: AFP/Getty Images/AFP/Getty Images 1981: Prince Charles and Princess Diana take part in their first public engagement, at the Royal Opera House with Princess Grace of Monaco Credit: Reginald Davis / Rex Features/Reginald Davis / Rex Features 16 June 1982: A portrait of Princess Grace of Monaco Credit: AFP/Getty 1982: people look at the location of Princess Grace's fatal car crash on the Cote d'Azur Credit: Armando Pietrangeli / Rex Features/Armando Pietrangeli / Rex Features 13 September 1

982: Police surround the site of Princess Grace's fatal car accident Credit: AFP/Getty 18 September 1982: Monaco's Prince Rainier and his eldest daughter Princess Caroline attend the funeral of Princess Grace Credit: AFP/Getty Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier's 60th Wedding Anniversary - Princess Grace of Monaco Wedding Photos By Sam Escobar Apr 18, 2016 On April 19, 1956, American actress Grace Kelly walked down the aisle to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco in what was dubbed "the wedding of the century." After meeting Kelly at the Cannes Film Festival, the Prince started corresponding with the actress.

Eight months later, he asked for her hand in marriage. She accepted, of course, and the pair began preparations for their elaborate royal ceremony. This year marks what would have been the couple's 60th anniversary. Let's look back at some of the most gorgeous moments from their big day, shall we? Advertisement - Continue Reading Below The Announcement This wedding stamp from February 1956 celebrated the famous couple's upcoming nuptials. In front of their closest friends and loved ones, the pair was first married in a civil ceremony on April 18, followed by a religious ceremony on April 19, which was attended by 600 guests. Getty STF/AFP Walking to the Cathedral In a televised event viewed by an estimated 30 million people worldwide, the actress walked toward the cathedral in a setting she was very familiar with, being one of the most famous actresses of the time: a red carpet. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below The Gown Kelly was married in a breathtaking gown by Academy Award-winning costume designer Helen Rose, gifted to the actress by MGM Studios. The dress, which took six weeks and several seamstresses to create, featured a high neck, long sleeves, and fitted torso.

Getty The Rings Kelly's incredible 10.47-carat Cartier diamond engagement ring from Rainier made headlines prior to the wedding. A seriously adorable tidbit : Apparently, Rainier was so nervous, his betrothed actually helped him put her wedding ring on her finger. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Traditional Ceremony The couple was married in a religious ceremony at the Saint Nicholas Cathedral before Monaco's Bishop Gilles Barthe. The wedding itself lasted just 15 minutes, but a 25-minute recitation of the 142 titles acquired by Kelly lengthened the event considerably. After the Ceremony After the ceremony, thousands of Monaco's citizens greeted the pair as they exited the cathedral. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Officially Married Princess Grace and Prince Rainier III were married for 26 years until Kelly's death in 1982. They had three children: Caroline, Albert, and Stephanie. The Prince passed away in 2005 and was buried beside his wife.

Grace Kelly Marries Prince Rainier of Monaco, 1956 | Who2 Grace Kelly Marries Prince Rainier of Monaco, 1956 April 18, 2012 | By Paul Hehn Oscar-winning beauty Grace Kelly left Hollywood behind and married into the royal family of Monaco on 18 April 1956. The first ceremony was a civil ceremony on the 18th, the second was a church service the next day. We all kind of know the story, including the tragic ending when Princess Grace gets killed in a car accident in 1982. Grace Kelly was a Pennsylvania girl who made it big in Hollywood, then became a European princess. Weird. Even weirder is to remember that her Hollywood career was really only about five years long. Grace Kelly was 26 years old when she got married. By that time she’d made a classic western (High Noon) and three movies with Alfred Hitchcock (Dial M for Murder, Rear Window and To Catch A Thief). She’d also been nominated twice for an Oscar, as a supporting player in Mogambo, and as the best actress for The Country Girl. She won for The Country Girl.

Then she made High Society with Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby , and then she was off to Monaco, so that American reporters could ask her questions about children she hadn’t even planned to have yet. This year would have been the 56th anniversary for Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace. Except for that part about her dying in 1982 and him dying in 2005. The traditional wedding gift for a 55th anniversary is emeralds, and the traditional gift for a 60th anniversary is diamonds. You’d think the traditional gift for the 56th would be something in between, like spinel or topaz. According to the internet, however, there either isn’t a traditional gift for the 56th anniversary, or it’s wrought iron . Wrought iron. I wonder who thought up that one.

“Happy Anniversary, Grandma and Grampa, here’s your new wrought iron gravy boat!” Grace Kelly's Wedding To Prince Rainier Was An Elegant Affair (PHOTO) | The Huffington Post Grace Kelly's Wedding To Prince Rainier Was An Elegant Affair (PHOTO) 04/19/2013 08:50 am ET Michelle Persad Fashion Editor, The Huffington Post. There is a reason that songs , movies and books were written in Grace Kelly' s honor -- the woman was a legend . The Philadelphia native got her start modeling at local social events, and soon thereafter began acting and dancing at her high school. But it wasn't until she moved to New York that she got her first big break on Broadway. From there, Kelly went on to become a fashion icon, Alfred Hitchcock's muse and royalty -- she married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, in 1956, making her princess consort of Monaco. In celebration of Princess Grace and Prince's Rainier's anniversary (on April 19), we are taking a look back at their wedding photo. In this 1956 photograph, we see the happy couple posing for a portrait, looking quite regal (natch).

Kelly is wearing her wedding dress , one of the most famous bridal gowns in history, complete with a lace bodice, delicate veil and two petticoats. (Her dress has since been on display at museums and even has its own Wikipedia page ). Her husband looks dapper in a military-style uniform that he designed himself , and a slew of medals and a red and white sash worn across his chest. What made this pair's wedding so special was not only the lavish ensembles and over-the-top ceremony, but the idea of a real-life fairy tale coming true -- an ordinary girl from Philly married a European blue blood, and the whole world got to watch it happen. Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images/3777/Contributor Prince Rainier III of Monaco - Telegraph Royalty Obituaries Prince Rainier III of Monaco His Serene Highness Prince Rainier III of Monaco, who died yesterday aged 81, turned the tiny principality which he inherited on the Côte d'Azur into a mini-Manhattan of concrete and glass - a process made possible by the glamour conferred by his marriage to the film star Grace Kelly.

12:02AM BST 07 Apr 2005 Monaco, in origin a fortified rock overlooking the Mediterranean between Nice and Menton, is hardly bigger than Hyde Park. In the 1930s Somerset Maugham, reacting against the riff-raff attracted by its casino and tax advantages, called it "a sunny place full of shady people". At the time of Rainier's accession in 1949, however, even the economic auguries seemed doubtful. In that year the Société des Bains de Mer, which ran the casino, several hotels and various other tourist attractions, registered serious losses. Monaco had profited from the fact that gambling was illegal in France from 1836 to 1933; after the war, though, competition developed, both on the Riviera and elsewhere.

To make matters worse, in the early 1950s the Société Monégasque de Banques et de Métaux Précieux, which held 55 per cent of Monaco's reserves, and much of Rainier's own fortune, went bankrupt; moreover, Aristotle Onassis, the Greek shipping magnate, had acquired control of the Société des Bains de Mer. It was Onassis who first had the idea that Rainier should improve the image of Monaco by marrying an American film star. Marilyn Monroe was informed, and though not interested - she thought Monaco was in Africa - did not doubt her capabilities. "Give me two days alone with him," she said, "and of course he'll want to marry me." Rainier probably never heard about the matrimonial plots which Onassis was hatching for him. Nevertheless, when Grace Kelly, widely acclaimed as the most beautiful woman in the world, turned up at his palace on May 5 1955 for a photo session, he took advantage of their brief encounter to initiate a correspondence.

Related Articles Hélène Pastor 22 May 2014 Grace Kelly, for her part, had fallen in love with the south of France the year before, when she was making Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief with Cary Grant. Rainier's courtship benefited from the promotional talents of his chaplain, Father Tucker, an Irish-American with contacts in Grace Kelly's native Philadelphia. "I want to thank you," he wrote to Grace Kelly, "for showing the Prince what an American Catholic girl can be, and for the very deep impression this has left upon him." In fact Grace Kelly's past had been a good deal less than virginal, but her messy love affairs had only quickened her resolve to find a more enduring purpose. Rainier visited America at the end of 1955, and his engagement to Grace Kelly was officially announced on January 5 1956.

Her father, Jack Kelly, a brick manufacturer and self-made millionaire who had also won two Olympic gold medals for sculling, was initially unenthusiastic about providing a dowry - "My daughter doesn't have to pay any man to marry her" - but eventually agreed to pay $2 million towards the cost of the wedding (Onassis also made a contribution) and to set up a trust for Grace's benefit. The wedding, on April 19 1956, caught the imagination of the world's media, even though heads of state - the Queen, President Eisenhower and General de Gaulle - remained aloof. By the standards of Rainier's family, which was said to be subject to a matrimonial curse laid on a renegade ancestor in the 13th century, the marriage turned out remarkably well. Princess Grace took her duties seriously, set up the Princess Grace Foundation to administer her charities, founded a ballet school and built convalescent homes. Meanwhile, her superstar status put Monaco on the map. It is true that Princess Grace did not find her life in Monaco entirely satisfying.

In 1962, after she had had two miscarriages, Prince Rainier relaxed his ban on her appearing in films to the extent of giving her permission to appear in Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie. But she had to withdraw when it became clear that the Monégasques recoiled from the idea. Later, in the 1970s, Princess Grace would spend a good deal of time in Paris. But if the Rainiers had their differences, their partnership remained solid. And the prestige which Princess Grace gave Monaco undoubtedly helped Rainier to fulfil his ambition of making the principality a viable proposition. In the 1950s Monaco had benefited from Onassis's investments in the Société de Bains de Mer. Rainier, however, meant to govern absolutely, and did not hesitate to overrule the National Council (in which Onassis angled for support) if it resisted him. Since Onassis saw Monaco in terms of a playground for the rich, whereas Rainier thought in terms of more wide-ranging commercial development, a showdown between the two was inevitable. First, though, Rainier needed to settle his differences with the French government.

President de Gaulle looked sourly upon the exemption from income and inheritance taxes which French subjects could achieve by establishing residence in Monaco, and in 1962 French customs officers blocked the main roads leading in and out of the principality. The next year Rainier was obliged to renegotiate Monaco's independence by conceding that French citizens would no longer be able to claim tax privileges. Rainier was now ready to confront Onassis. In 1964 he regained control of the Société des Bains de Mer by the simple, if high-handed, means of creating 600,000 new shares in the company, to be controlled by the state. Within a week Onassis's yacht Christina had slipped away from Monaco. Left to his own devices, Rainier set out to transform a faded gambling resort into a rather more diverse centre of tourism. He also used the favourable tax climate to attract banking and such light industries as plastics, cosmetics and jewellery. The Prince was never happier than when poring over plans for new buildings; and with a constant stream of foreigners eager to establish residence in order to escape taxes, and American capital flowing freely into Monaco as a result of his marriage, he had both the motive and the means for construction.

From the commercial point of view, most of the developments - and particularly Loew's Hotel and Conference Centre, which was wedged into the cliff below the old casino, on the site of an ancient pigeon shoot - proved hugely successful. Aesthetically, its benefits were very much less obvious. Princess Grace did what she could to limit the damage to buildings of the belle époque, and managed to save the Hermitage Hotel. But she could not prevent Monaco becoming a megalopolis, albeit still studded with odd glimpses of the past. Big yachts in the harbour towered over gnarled fishermen mending their nets; old cafés remained in the shadow of concrete monstrosities; games of boules took place alongside traffic snarl-ups. Later, and particularly after Rainier's daughter Princess Caroline married Stefano Casiraghi in 1982, there was a wave of Italian investment, accompanied by rumours (always denied by Rainier) of a Mafia presence and much money-laundering.

On the credit side, some 50 acres (part of which had been 120 ft under water) were reclaimed from the sea in the mid-1980s, and used for 2,000 flats, various small businesses and a sports ground. Up to the mid-1990s Rainier could point to a flourishing economy. Whereas, at the beginning of the 20th century, the casino had accounted for 95 per cent of Monaco's revenue, by the 1980s it was producing only three per cent, as proceeds from VAT swelled the principality's coffers. Rainier presided over an economy in which even the social security system made a profit; in which unemployment was virtually unknown amongst the 5,000 native Monégasques; and in which 24,000 tax exiles found relief from income and inheritance taxes. Moreover, with white-gloved policemen on every corner, and telephone-tapping of suspicious characters, the denizens of Monaco could feel secure against burglary and mugging. If Rainier had hardly achieved his aim of creating an orthodox commercial economy, he had certainly succeeded in capitalising on his inheritance.

Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi was born on May 31 1923 into a princely family whose meagre possessions had never inhibited their capacity for vicious internal feuds. The Grimaldis first made their mark in the 12th century, as a seafaring (not to say piratical) family in Genoa. Their connection with Monaco dates from 1297, when François Grimaldi, known as "the Spiteful", captured the Rock from the Genoese, who had fortified it since 1215. Although François was soon expelled, a kinsman of his bought the lordship of Monaco in 1338; and soon afterwards added to it the nearby villages of Roquebruna and Mentoneas (now Roquebrune and Menton). Although the Grimaldis were again chased off the Rock by the Genoese in 1355, they were able to re-purchase Monaco in 1419. This time they clung on to their prize, though compelled in the early 17th century to accept Spanish protection.

No one troubled to object when, in 1612, the lord of Monaco began to refer to himself as "Prince". The Grimaldis lost their principality during the French Revolution, when Monaco became part of the Alpes Maritimes département of France. Even after it was restored to them in 1814, the Grimaldis hardly felt secure. Indeed, in 1861, after France and Sardinia had joined forces to throw the Austrians out of Italy, France gained Menton and Roquebrune, where the Grimaldis' taxation had long been resented. But Monaco itself emerged from these negotiations with its independence confirmed. Meanwhile Prince Charles III, or more accurately his mother Princess Caroline, had hit upon the means of restoring the Grimaldis' fortunes by introducing a casino in 1857. The Société des Basins de Mer was set up to run the enterprise, with the stipulation that no native Monégasque should be allowed into the casino. The business did not prosper until the injection of Rothschild money made possible the building of hotels, and of a new casino which opened in 1864. So Monte Carlo (named after Prince Charles) was born.

Yet, though the Grimaldis were now well off, they remained as quarrelsome as ever. And at the end of the 19th century, their natural talent for discord was sharpened by a startling mésalliance. A laundrywoman who worked for Louis Grimaldi, Rainier's grandfather, asked him to keep an eye on her daughter Marie, who worked in a Montmartre night club, when he went to Paris. This Louis did to such effect that he had a daughter with Marie, called Charlotte. For some time the rest of the Grimaldis would have nothing to do with either Marie or Charlotte. But in the absence of any other heir, Louis's father, Prince Albert, arranged in 1919 for Charlotte to be legitimised and (the next year) married to an impoverished French aristocrat, Pierre, Comte de Polignac. A daughter, Antoinette, was born at the end of 1920; and three years later Rainier became the first Grimaldi heir to be born in Monaco since 1758.

Having discharged his procreative duty, de Polignac, sensible of being disliked almost as much by his wife as by his father-in-law, left Monaco. "To make love," Princess Charlotte complained, "he needs to put a crown on his head." By the terms of his divorce settlement, he was forbidden to return to Monaco; and the carabineri were given instructions to eject him bodily if he flouted this ban. The Grimaldis employed an English nanny, Kathleen Wanstall (said to be a cousin of Winston Churchill), who resolutely refused to speak, or even listen to, a word of French. De Polignac, who had retained rights over Rainier's education, insisted on his going to an English prep school, Summer Fields, at St Leonards, where he was known as "Fat Boy Monaco". Rainier went on to Stowe, from which he ran away; when he was returned to the school the authorities placed him in the sanatorium. Meanwhile, Prince Louis and de Polignac continued to wrangle over their rights to control the boy until the British High Court decreed, in March 1936, that Rainier should be returned to Louis's custody.

Thereafter the prince was sent to an easy-going school at Le Rosey, in Switzerland, where he was much happier. He had just gone to Montpellier University when the Second World War broke out. After the fall of France, Prince Louis of Monaco threw in his lot with the Vichy regime, whereas Rainier, who remained in Montpellier, followed his father in developing sympathies with the Free French. He also acquired a mistress, the French actress Gisèle Pascal. In 1943 he graduated from Montpellier and went on to the Ecole Libre des Sciences Politiques in Paris. He returned to Monaco in September 1944, a month after the Germans had left, and demanded (unsuccessfully) that the principality's pro-Vichy minister should be dismissed. Rainier then joined the French army, and was awarded the Croix de Guerre for bravery under fire in Alsace. Subsequently he became a liaison officer with the Americans at Strasbourg, and at the end of the war went to Berlin, where he served in the Economic Section of the French military mission.

After leaving the army in 1947, Rainier took a villa at Beaulieu-sur-mer, where he carried on his affair with Gisèle Pascal. His intellectual interests were confined to zoology; he loved animals, and would later have a small private zoo in Monaco. As to his other pursuits, he enjoyed a whiff of danger, whether skiing, motor racing, piloting speedboats or spear-fishing in the Red Sea. When he succeeded his grandfather as Prince of Monaco in May 1949, his first act was to set aside the will by which Prince Louis left half his fortune to Princess Ghislaine, his consort since 1946. He also invited his father back to Monaco, and set him up in the Hôtel de Paris. Meanwhile, Gisèle Pascal was relegated to the role of weekend companion in a villa on Cap Ferrat. But she missed the theatrical world, and in 1953 married the actor Raymond Pellegrin. Thenceforward Rainier was obliged to look elsewhere in order to secure the succession.

The era of Grace Kelly ended with brutal suddenness on September 13 1982 when her car burst through the barriers on the Corniche road near La Turbie - in the same hills where she had once driven with Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief. Her funeral, unlike her wedding, was attended by an impressive number of dignitaries, including the King and Queen of Belgium, the Queen of Spain, the Princess of Wales and Nancy Reagan. Rainier was devastated by his loss, and for some time afterwards seemed unable to maintain his normal control. In New York in 1983 he earned the sobriquet "Rocky" Rainier on account of his penchant for throwing punches at photographers who snapped him with various escorts. There were rumours that he would marry Princess Ira von Furstenberg, reputedly described by Princess Margaret as too big a woman for so small a principality. Rainier himself might have reflected that his children provided more than enough family life. Princess Caroline, his eldest child, reacted against her parents to the extent of marrying the French playboy Philippe Junot in 1978; they divorced in 1980, and the Catholic Church obliged with an annulment.

Her second marriage, to Stefano Casiraghi in 1983, ended when he was killed in a speedboat accident in 1990. She married Prince Ernst August of Hanover in 1999. Princess Stephanie, Rainier's youngest child, capped various amatory adventures by marrying Daniel Ducruet, her former bodyguard, in 1995; their union ended four years later when he was filmed making love to a stripper who had won the "Miss Bare Breasts Belgium" title; Princess Stephanie later took up with an elephant trainer, a butler and a gardener before deciding to marry a trapeze artist. During the 1980s there was speculation that Rainier would abdicate in favour of his son, Prince Albert, born in 1958. But Albert's reluctance to marry, and an apparent lack of iron in his character, did nothing to forward his early succession. He now succeeds his father; in 2002 the constitution was changed so that the title can pass through the female line if he remains childless.

Even though the remarkable economic growth which Rainier had brought to Monaco tailed off in the later 1990s, he had certainly been one of the more successful princes of Monaco. First published April 7 2005

Question: Who married Prince Ranier III of Monaco in 1956?
Answer: Grace Kelly