Rainier III, Prince of Monaco

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Prince Rainier III
Sovereign Prince of Monaco
Rainier III, Prince of Monaco
Reign 9 May 1949 - 6 April 2005
Born 31 May 1923
Monaco
Died 6 April 2005
Monaco
Buried Saint Nicholas Cathedral
Predecessor Louis II of Monaco
Successor Albert II of Monaco
Consort Grace Kelly
Issue Caroline, Princess of Hanover
Albert II of Monaco
Princess Stéphanie
Royal House Grimaldi
Father Prince Pierre of Monaco, Duke of Valentinois
Mother Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois

Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005), styled HSH The Sovereign Prince of Monaco, ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost fifty-six years, making him one of the longest ruling monarchs of the 20th century. Though he was best known outside of Europe for having married American actress Grace Kelly, he was also responsible for reforms to Monaco's constitution and for expanding the principality's economy beyond its traditional gambling base. Gambling accounts for approximately three percent of the nation's annual revenue today; when Rainier ascended the throne in 1949, it accounted for more than 95 percent. Before his death, he was the second-longest reigning monarch with his 56 years of reign.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Rainier was born in Monaco, the only son of Prince Pierre of Monaco, Duke of Valentinois (né Count Pierre de Polignac) and his wife, Hereditary Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois. Born in Algeria, his mother was the only child of Prince Louis II and Marie Juliette Louvet; she was later legitimized through formal adoption and subsequently named heiress to the throne of Monaco. His father was a half-French, half-Spanish nobleman from Brittany who adopted his wife's surname, Grimaldi, upon marriage and was made a prince of Monaco by his father-in-law.

Rainier had one sibling, HSH Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massy, an unpopular figure generally believed to be meddlesome enough regarding her children's place in the line of succession to have forced Princess Grace to demand that she leave the country.

Rainier was first sent to study at Summerfield College in St. Leonards-on-Sea, England, and later at Stowe, a prestigious English public school in Buckinghamshire. From there, he went to the Institut Le Rosey in Rolle and Gstaad, Switzerland, before continuing to the University of Montpellier in France, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree, and finally to the Institut d'études politiques de Paris in Paris.

Rainier's maternal grandfather, Prince Louis II, had been a general in the French army during World War I. During World War II, Rainier served as an artillery officer in the army. As a second lieutenant, he fought so courageously during the German counter-offensive in Alsace that he won the Croix de Guerre and Bronze Star and was given the rank of Chevalier in the Legion of Honor.

On 9 May 1949, Rainier became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco on the death of Prince Louis II, his mother having renounced her rights to the throne in his favor in 1944.

[edit] Early romance

In the 1940s and 1950s, the prince openly lived with the French film star Gisèle Pascal (née Gisèle Tallone, 1923–). The couple reportedly separated when a doctor declared the actress to be infertile; in fact, she later married and had a child.

[edit] Marriage and family

After a year-long courtship described as containing "a good deal of rational appraisal on both sides" (Times of London, 7 April 2005, page 59), on 19 April 1956, Prince Rainier married Oscar-winning American actress Grace Kelly (1929–1982). [1] Their children are:

Prince Rainier has nine grandchildren:

After his wife's death, he was romantically involved with his first cousin once removed, Princess Ira of Fürstenberg, a former movie actress turned jewelery designer who is also a Fiat heiress and the former sister-in-law of fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg. Like him, she is a great-grandchild of Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton, the Scottish–German wife of Prince Albert I of Monaco, though by Lady Mary's second marriage.

Rainer III was also a football fan, having followed AS Monaco FC to the 2004 Champions League final. Monaco has for years hosted the European Super Cup.

[edit] Actions as Prince

After ascending the throne, Prince Rainier III worked assiduously to recoup Monaco's luster, which had become tarnished through neglect (especially financial) and scandal (his mother, Princess Charlotte, took a noted jewel thief known as René the Walking Stick as her lover). According to numerous obituaries, the prince was faced upon his ascension with a treasury that was practically empty. The holder of 55 percent of the nation's reserves, the Societé Monégasque de Banques et de Métaux Précieux, was bankrupt. The small nation's traditional gambling clientele, largely European aristocrats, found themselves with reduced funds after World War II. Other gambling centers had opened to compete with Monaco, many of them successfully. To compensate for this loss of income, Prince Rainier decided to promote Monaco as a tax haven, commercial center, real-estate development opportunity, and international tourist attraction. The early years of his reign saw the overweening involvement of the Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, who took control of the Société des Bains de Mer and envisioned Monaco as solely a gambling resort. Prince Rainier regained control of the Société in 1964, effectively ensuring that his vision of Monaco would be implemented.

As Prince of Monaco, Rainier III also was responsible for the principality's new constitution in 1962 which significantly reduced the power of the sovereign. (He 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 the prince and a National Council of eighteen elected members.

At the time of his death, he was the world's second longest-serving Head of State, ranking just below King Rama IX of Thailand. During the last two or three years of his life, Rainier was in the custom of asking his valet each morning, "Has Rama survived the night? Or did I just move up in the ranks?"

[edit] Illness and death

In the last three years of his life, Prince Rainier's health progressively declined. In early 2004 he was hospitalized for coronary problems. In October he was again in hospital with a lung infection. In November of that year, Prince Albert appeared on CNN's Larry King Live and told Larry King that his father was fine, though he was suffering from bronchitis. [2] On March 7, 2005, he was again hospitalized with a lung infection. Rainier was moved to the hospital's intensive care unit on 22 March. One day later, on 23 March, it was announced he was on a ventilator, suffering from renal 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, the following day, he was reported to be conscious, his heart and kidney conditions having stabilized. His prognosis remained "very reserved". [3]

On 31 March 2005, the Palais Princier announced that Rainier's son, Hereditary Prince Albert, Marquis des Baux, would take over the duties of his father as Regent since Rainier was no longer able to exercise his royal functions. [4]

On 1 April 2005, the Palace announced that Rainier's chances of recovery were "slim"; on 6 April it announced that Prince Rainier had died at 6:35 am local time at the age of 81. He was succeeded by his only son, who became Prince Albert II.

He was buried on 15 April 2005, beside his wife, Princess Grace, at Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco. Built in the 19th century and also known as Monaco Cathedral, the neo-Romanesque structure is the resting place of 17 previous sovereign princes of Monaco and several of their wives; it is also where Prince Rainier and Princess Grace were married in 1956.

Because his death occured shortly after the death of Pope John Paul II, Rainier's passing was overshadowed in the media.

[edit] Ancestry

Rainer III was of French, German, Scottish, English, Spanish, and Italian ancestry.

Through his great-grandmother Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton, who was briefly Princess of Monaco, he was a direct descendent of two kings of Scotland, James II and James IV. His great great great-grandmother was Stéphanie de Beauharnais, the adopted daughter of Napoleon Bonaparte and later the Margravine of Baden. Among his direct ancestors was William Beckford, the scandalous 18th century English collector, tastemaker, writer, and eccentric.

Rainer was also a direct descendent of Prince William "the Silent" of Orange-Nassau, the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Empire and ancestor to the current Dutch Royal Family, Joan of Kent, the first Princess of Wales, King Charles IX of Sweden, King Frederick II of Denmark and Norway, and Claude, Duke of Guise.

[edit] Titles

Rainier's official shortened title was His Serene Highness Rainier III, Sovereign Prince of Monaco; this does not include the many other hereditary titles acquired by the Grimaldi family (see Prince of Monaco for a complete list).

His other non-hereditary titles and awards included:

[edit] Philately

Rainier III created a postal museum in 1950 by using the collections of Albert I and Louis II. Since 1996 this museum has been called Musée des timbres et monnaies.

Creator of the philatelic Club de Monte-Carlo in 1997, he organized with its members some exhibitions of rare and exceptional postage stamps and letters.

Throughout his reign, Rainier III surveyed all the process of creation of Monaco stamps. He liked stamps printed in intaglio and the art of engraver Czesław Słania.

[edit] External links


House of Grimaldi
Born: 31 May 1923; Died: 6 April 2005
Preceded by
Louis II		 Prince of Monaco
1949-2005		 Succeeded by
Albert II
Preceded by
Charlotte		 Duke of Valentinois
1977-2005
Hereditary Prince of Monaco
1944-1949		 Vacant
Title next held by
Caroline
Marquis of Baux
1944-1949		 Vacant
Title last held by
Albert II
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