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Princess Charlene Tried to Run Away Three Times

Posted in Grace Kelly, PEOPLE, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene, Princess Grace (Grace Kelly), ROYALTY/NOBILITY, The Grimaldis of Monaco, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 4, 2011| 31 Comments »

Princess Charlene beams with joy at her new husband, Prince Albert II of Monaco, following the religious blessing of their marriage.

July 4, 2011

The Daily Mail:

“The new Princess Charlene of Monaco tried to flee home to South Africa three times before her ‘arranged marriage’ to Prince Albert, it was alleged yesterday.

The former Charlene Wittstock, 33, reportedly made her first escape attempt when she travelled to Paris in May to try on her wedding dress.

The allegations, which are surprising considering she went ahead with the wedding on Saturday, emerged in the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche , It went on to report that later in May, Charlene made a second apparent attempt to escape during the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Monaco Grand Prix along the Monaco Harbor.

A month before their royal wedding, Charlene Wittstock and Prince Albert II of Monaco attend a dinner following the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix. May 31, 2011.

Then, last week, royal officials are said to have confiscated her passport en route to Nice airport via the helicopter service that runs between the Mediterranean principality and France. She was then persuaded to go on with the marriage.

‘Several sources have confirmed that an arrangement was reached between the future bride and groom,’ reported Le Journal du Dimanche.”

The reports followed confirmation by palace sources while the wedding was in full swing that Prince Albert, 53, was due to have DNA tests because of claims by at least one woman that he has fathered another illegitimate child. He already has a 19-year-old daughter and six-year-old son. Le Journal du Dimanche quoted Monaco “policy advisers” among those discussing “two illegitimate children -one already born, the other to come.” (The Vancouver Sun)

Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, the child of Prince Albert II of Monaco and Tamara Rotolo, was born in Palm Springs, California, on March 4, 1992.

Alexandre "Alex" Coste is the natural son of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and former flight attendant from the African Republic of Togo Nicole Coste. He was born on August 24, 2003.

“Sources said the Monaco palace had hoped the glitzy wedding – attended by a host of celebrities and European royalty – would ‘overshadow’ new claims about secret children fathered by Albert.

The Monaco Palace

Instead, Charlene was in floods of tears at one point, while her 53-year-old husband looked on impassively.

Princess Charlene weeps at the religious ceremony blessing her marriage to Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Meanwhile, the reception that followed provoked ridicule with tacky features such as a giant wedding cake that towered over the couple and a mirrored dance floor.

Monaco's Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene cut a small cake while standing by their enormous (leaning?) wedding cake at the Gala Dinner at the Opera Garnier in Monaco, July 2, 2011. Pink Proteas flowers from Princess Charlene's native South Africa adorn the many-tiered confection. The wedding cake was redcurrant and vanilla. Charlene is radiant in her second Armani gown of the day.

Among the guests were Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, actor Roger Moore and Topshop boss Sir Philip Green and his wife, Tina.

Fireworks light the sky over the Monte Carlo Casino after the gala dinner to celebrate the wedding of Prince Albert II to Charlene Wittstock of South Africa. July 2, 2011

Tomorrow the couple are due to fly to South Africa on honeymoon, presenting Charlene with her best chance yet of ‘escaping’ Monaco.”

Source: The Daily Mail

Readers, for more on the Monaco Royals, Princess Albert II and Princess Charlene, on Lisa’s History Room, click here.

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Princess Charlene’s Wedding Gown

Posted in Grace Kelly, PEOPLE, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene, Princess Grace (Grace Kelly), ROYALTY/NOBILITY, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 3, 2011| 4 Comments »

Newlyweds Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco depart from the Monaco palace after their religious wedding ceremony, Saturday, July 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Benoit Tessier, Pool)

Charlene Wittstock's Armani gown worn for the religious ceremony took 2,500 hours to prepare as "kilometers" of platinum-coated thread was sewn into 430 yards of off-white silk. Charlene's broad swimming champion's shoulders bore the weight of 40,000 Swarovski crystals, 20,000 mother of pearl tear drops, and 30,000 golden stones.

Princess Charlene's wedding gown had two trains. The skirt of the gown folded out to a shorter train, while the crossover neckline extended into a longer train on top.

Princess Charlene chose a light veil of off white tulle that rested on her head from the back.

Charlene anchored her wedding veil with an elaborate curving diamond hairpiece, possibly loaned by her new sister-in-law, Princess Caroline.

 

Readers: For more on Prince Albert and Princess Charlene here on Lisa’s History Room, click here.

Readers: For stories about Princess Grace of Monaco on Lisa’s History Room, click here.

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Prince Albert II of Monaco: Baby Shots

Posted in Grace Kelly, PEOPLE, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene, Princess Grace (Grace Kelly), ROYALTY/NOBILITY, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 2, 2011| 8 Comments »

Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi, born March 14, 1958, at the Prince’s Palace in Monaco, is the second child born to Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace.On April 6, 2005, Prince Rainier III died and Hereditary Prince Albert became Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco.

 

Princess Grace of Monaco holds 2 of her children in this early 1960 photo: Princess Caroline, 3, and Prince Albert, 22 mos. Caroline and Albert were born 14 months apart.

Princess Grace, seated, and her husband, Prince Rainier III, pose for a family portrait with their 3 children: baby Princess Stephanie, Princess Caroline, and Prince Albert II. ca. 1965.

The Grimaldis smile for the camera: Prince Rainier holds Princess Stephanie with blue-eyed Prince Albert looking on from behind. Dark-haired beauty Princess Caroline flanks her mother, Princess Grace on our right. photo ca. 1967.

Prince Albert was adored by his mother, Princess Grace of Monaco. undated photo

READERS: For more on the Grimaldis of Monaco and the Royal Wedding, click here.

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Prince Albert of Monaco: A THIRD Love Child? Really?

Posted in Carla Bruni & Nicolas Sarkozy, Grace Kelly, PEOPLE, POLITICS & GOV'T, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene, Prince William & Catherine, Duke & Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Grace (Grace Kelly), ROYALTY/NOBILITY, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 1, 2011| 2 Comments »

Center, Prince Albert of Monaco and his fiancé Charlene Wittstock pose with the band The Eagles, performing in Monaco to celebrate the wedding of Albert and Charlene. June 30, 2011.

Prince Albert of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock of South Africa are scheduled to wed today in Monte Carlo despite revelations in the French Press earlier in the week that the never-before-married Prince Albert, 53, may have fathered a third love child. Upon learning of the Le Monde article, Miss Wittstock, 20 years Albert’s junior, reportedly tried to flee the tiny Riviera principality.

As reported in The Daily Mail, “the couple’s lawyers have furiously denied a rift, while police have claimed that Miss Wittstock even

had her passport confiscated at the Nice airport to stop her getting on a flight.” 

Despite this hiccup, the wedding is going ahead as planned. The engaged couple put on a happy show of unity last night as they attended a concert by The Eagles. The free show was held at Monaco’s stadium and attracted thousands of fans from the principality and neighboring areas.

The wedding nuptials include a civil ceremony today and a Catholic Church ceremony tomorrow. 

In this June 2011 photo for Vogue magazine, Charlene Wittstock shows off her impressive physique. She was a South African Olympic swimmer who will become Princess Charlene of Monaco on Friday, July 1, 2011, when she weds Prince Albert of Monaco. Prince Albert is the son of the late Grace Kelly, American film actress, and Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

Charlene Wittstock stands on a precipice in Monaco.
To see a gallery of Charlene Wittstock photos at the Daily Beast, click here.  

The nuptials at Monte Carlo may rival the British royal wedding in lavishness and excess. While newlyweds William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are unable to attend the festivities because they are currently in Canada on a North American tour, the guest list is still expected to be impressive. Shrouded in secrecy, it is rumored to include crowned heads of Europe, politicians, and glitterati such as international supermodel Naomi Campbell, German haute couture designer Karl Lagerfeld, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, First Lady Carla Bruni.

Musician and former model Carla Bruni is expecting her second child, her first with Sarkozy.

The June 2011 issue of French magazine Elle features First Lady of France Carla Bruni Sarkozy with her growing pregnancy bump. Carla Bruni is a former model, and has graced the cover of Elle many times.

Before she was the First Lady of France: Carla Bruni models a designer bikini and pearl-rimmed sunglasses.

READERS: For more on Lisa’s History Room about Carla Bruni, click here.   

 

In the photo above, Prince Albert’s mother, Princess Grace of Monaco, is shown climbing the stairs of the Princely Palace in Monaco, ca. 1960. Princess Grace is the Hollywood actress Grace Kelly who gave up her film career to marry Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, in 1956. Together they raised three children: Caroline, Princess of Hanover, Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.

Readers: For more on Lisa’s History Room about Princess Grace, click here.

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Grace Kelly’s Prenups

Posted in Grace Kelly, PEOPLE, Princess Grace (Grace Kelly), ROYALTY/NOBILITY, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 8, 2011| 9 Comments »

On January 6, 1956, the long leading story on page one of the New York Times read:   

PRINCE OF MONACO TO WED GRACE KELLY

Prince Rainier of Monaco and Grace Kelly of Philadelphia announce their engagement on January 5, 1956.

The fairytale romance was front page news! It had captured the public imagination “to the point of intoxication.” (1) There was to be a wedding – a royal wedding ! It would be the “Wedding of the Century,” it was predicted.

Grace Patricia Kelly was an Academy-Award-winning actress and America’s #1 box office star. Prince Rainier was Europe‘s most eligible bachelor. It was a marriage made in heaven – it seemed.  Behind the scenes, though, a rather down-to-earth business arrangement had preceded the finalizing of the engagement.

The public was swept away by such a whirlwind courtship. After all,  Grace and the Prince barely knew one another. Just the previous May, the two had met at a Paris-Match publicity shoot at the Prince’s palace in Monaco.  They had exchanged polite words, nothing more. But after that chance encounter, Rainier and Grace began a vigorous correspondence. For the next seven months, letter flew back and forth across the Atlantic.

The Royal Palace at Monaco

Over the course of time, Grace and Rainier discovered that they had much in common – their Roman Catholicism particularly and their dissatisfaction with their lives. Both were looking to get married and start a family. 

 

Grace Kelly, Life magazine, ca. 1955.

The two were nothing more than pen pals when the Prince, his doctor, and his priest arrived at the home of Grace’s parents, Jack and Margaret Kelly, in Philadelphia on Christmas night, 1955. Grace had flown in from Hollywood for the special dinner visit. Bear in mind, Grace had not laid eyes on the Prince since the spring.  Three days later, they were engaged, with Grace’s parents’ approval.

Before Rainier and Grace could officially announce their engagement, though, there were several obstacles to overcome – matters of state, as Grace was marrying into the House of Grimaldi. First, Grace had to submit to a physical exam to determine if she could bear children – heirs to the throne of Monaco. She passed the fertility test.

Secondly, it was the custom among the European aristocracy for the bride’s family to pay the groom a dowry. Jack Kelly, an Irish millionaire whose family was the cream of Philadelphia society, flew into a rage at the very idea. In the end, though, as the marriage of his daughter was thrown in jeopardy, he agreed to pay the Prince a dowry of $2 million.

Finally, Grace had to accept that, in the event of a divorce, any children of the marriage would remain in Monaco with their father.

(1) Glatt, John. The Royal House of Monaco. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998.

Readers, for more on Grace Kelly on this blog, click here.

 

 

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Finally! Prince Albert of Monaco is Engaged!

Posted in Grace Kelly, PEOPLE, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene, Princess Grace (Grace Kelly), tagged , , , , , on June 23, 2010| 9 Comments »

Prince Albert of Monaco is engaged to former South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock. (Lisa's History Room)

Prince Albert of Monaco is engaged to Charlene Wittstock, a former Olympic swimmer from South Africa. He is 52, she, 32. Ms. Wittstock will become the first crown princess since the 1982 death of Prince Albert’s mother, Princess Grace of Monaco. Princess Grace was the former American film star, Grace Patricia Kelly.

In this 1974 photo, Princess Grace of Monaco, center, poses with her husband, Prince Rainier III, and their three children. From left to right: Princess Caroline, Prince Albert, and Princess Stephanie. At the time, Princess Grace and Prince Rainier III were the reigning monarchs of the ancient royal House of Grimaldi. Both Princess Grace and Prince Rainier III are deceased. Today their son Prince Albert is the reigning prince.

Perez Hilton calls the announcement a

Pretty big deal considering Albert was a notorious bachelor, causing Parliament to change the constitution in 2002 to allow one of his sisters’ sons to take the throne if he doesn’t produce an heir!

He does have two children, but they were born out of wedlock so they are not allowed to assume the throne.

Looks like Charlene better get ready to make some babies!”

Palace protocol dictates that couples must wait at least six months between the announcement of the engagement and the wedding day. Expect a big “to-do” since this will be the first royal wedding of a reigning prince in Monaco since 1956 when Grace Kelly retired from filmmaking to wed Albert’s father, Prince Rainier III.

Prince Rainier III of Monaco weds American film star and fashion icon Grace Kelly. They wed twice; the civil ceremony was held on April 18, 1956, followed the next day by a religious one. Her Serene Highness the Princess of Monaco, commonly referred to as "Princess Grace," retained both American and Monegasque citizenships.

READERS: Continue the story with “Prince Albert of Monaco: A THIRD Love Child?”

READERS: For more on Grace Kelly here on Lisa’s History Room, click here.

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Bling-Bling! Bang-Bang! Liz Taylor Attends Grace Kelly’s Scorpio Ball

Posted in Edith Head, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, PEOPLE, Princess Grace (Grace Kelly), tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 2, 2010| 13 Comments »

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton tie the knot in Montreal on March, 1964.

Since they began their affair on the movie set of “Cleopatra” in January, 1962, Richard Burton delighted in giving bride Elizabeth Taylor extravagant jewels.

The Taylor-Burton Diamond

One of the most famous pieces Burton gave Taylor is the pear-shaped, 69.42 carat Taylor-Burton Diamond. Fifth husband Richard Burton bought the diamond from Cartier in 1969 after a Sotheby’s auction, paying over $1 million for it. Burton agreed to allow the jeweler to display the jewel for a limited period in New York and Chicago, beginning on November 1. Crowds of more than 6,000 a day circled the store’s Fifth Avenue shop in New York to “gawk at a diamond as big as the Ritz.”

Meanwhile, Taylor had Cartier remount the stone as a pendant suspended from a V-shaped necklace of graduated pear-shaped diamonds, mounted in platinum. Elizabeth admitted that even for her the Cartier Diamond – now called the Taylor-Burton Diamond – was too big to wear as a ring.

The Taylor-Burton Diamond hangs from a diamond necklace created by Cartier.

Elizabeth is no stranger to heavy rings. She wears the Krupp Diamond on her left hand almost every day and has worn it in most if not all of her films and TV appearances since she bought it in 1968 for $305,000. The stone weighs 33.19 carats.

Liz Taylor's everyday ring: The Krupp Diamond

The Krupp Diamond, Liz Taylor’s everyday ring

Elizabeth chose to debut the Taylor-Burton Diamond at Princess Grace of Monaco’s  fortieth birthday bash at L’Hermitage in Monte Carlo. Princess Grace, formerly known as film star Grace Kelly (1929-1982), who would officially turn 40 on November 12, 1969, wanted to share this special occasion with sixty of her closest friends. Many of them were celebrities she knew from her film days like Rock Hudson, the Taylor-Burtons, and David and Hjordis Niven.

Film star Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco in Monte Carlo, April 1956 and becomes Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco.

Princess Grace’s invitations were designed like horoscopes and the party was to have a Scorpio theme – as that was Grace’s astrological sign. Grace was a lifelong believer in astrology, and often called a Hollywood astrologer for a personal daily horoscope. (1)

Princess Grace of Monaco (center) is flanked by her 2 sisters on the day of her fortieth birthday party. Monte Carlo, Monaco. November 15, 1969.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Taylor (b. 1932) planned her big entrance to Princess Grace’s party. Aside from choosing her wardrobe and hairstyle, she and Richard decided that the Taylor-Burton Diamond required more then ordinary security:

First, the diamond was flown from New York to Nice in the company of two security guards, who delivered it to Elizabeth Taylor and her husband aboard their yacht, the Kalizma. The Burtons were then escorted to the party with their security guards, who were armed with machine guns as added protection.” (2) 

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor arrive at Princess Grace’s 40th birthday party, Monaco, November, 1969. Notice that Liz Taylor wears a robe in keeping with the party’s Scorpio theme, the Princess’s astrological sign. On her left hand she wears the Krupp Diamond. The necklace pendant is the Taylor-Burton Diamond. November, 1969 (“Bling-Bling, Bang-Bang: Elizabeth Taylor Attends Princess Grace’s Scorpio Ball,” Lisa’s History Room)

Princess Grace of Monaco with Richard Burton at her 40th birthday party, Monaco, November 1969

Princess Grace of Monaco, 1969

Although it was Grace’s birthday, Elizabeth Taylor clearly upstaged the princess, dazzling all the guests with her new jewel and her beauty. After the ball, Grace wrote friend Judy Balaban Quine that she found it hard to take her eyes off Elizabeth, whom she considered

 “unbearably beautiful.”

Turning forty, added Grace, was equally unbearable. (1)

Richard Burton escorts wife Elizabeth Taylor to the April 1970 Academy Awards. Elizabeth wears the Taylor-Burton Diamond necklace and an Edith Head chiffon gown.

After the Taylor-Burton divorce in 1978, Elizabeth sold the diamond for $5 million, pledging to use part of the profit to build a hospital in Botswana (which, my mother tells me, blew away).

(1) Glatt, John. The Royal House of Monaco: Dynasty of Glamour, Tragedy, and Scandal. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997.
(2) Taylor, Elizabeth. Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002.

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Grace Kelly: Floating on Chiffon

Posted in Edith Head, Grace Kelly, PEOPLE, Princess Grace (Grace Kelly), tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 27, 2010| 8 Comments »

American actress Grace Kelly looks over her shoulder in Hollywood, California, March 1954. In April 1956, Kelly married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and became Her Serene Highness the Princess of Monaco. (“Grace Kelly: Floating on Chiffon,” Lisa’s History Room)

I was so excited to read in Vanity Fair that London’s Victoria & Albert Museum was featuring an exhibition of Grace Kelly‘s clothes. What a treat! I thought. Imagine all those beautiful 1950s dresses designed for actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982) together in one place. Of course I couldn’t get to London, I knew; I was recovering from spine surgery and we were building an addition to our house.

But what did that matter? I had my computer. With a few keystrokes and mouse clicks, I could cyber fashion stroll. I just assumed the V & A Museum would put the collection online as they had done with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert‘s jewelry collection. (See “Victoria & Albert: Art & Love & Teeth”)

I jumped to the museum website and found the exhibition: “Grace Kelly: Style Icon.” I got even happier after I read the promising blurb:

“Featuring dresses from her films including ‘High Society’ and ‘Rear Window,’ as well as the gown she wore to accept her Oscar in 1955, the display will examine Grace Kelly’s glamorous Hollywood image and enduring appeal.

It will also explore the evolution of her style as Princess Grace of Monaco, from the outfit she wore to her first meeting with Prince Rainier in 1955 to her haute couture gowns of the 1960s and ’70s by her favourite couturiers Dior, Balenciaga, Givenchy and Yves St Laurent.”

But much to my chagrin, I discovered that the exhibit is not posted online at the V & A. I was, at first, incredibly disappointed. In a mad haste, I scoured the Internet for images of the fashion display on newssites and blogs. I found a lot of articles but precious few images of the actual exhibit. But what I did find told a lot. To illustrate a point, here are two of those V & A showcase windows:  

A mannequin displays the dress Grace Kelly wore in “The Swan.” (1956) The exhibit, “Grace Kelly: Style Icon,” is at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London from April 17- September 26, 2010

The exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, “Grace Kelly: Style Icon,” includes dresses worn by Grace Kelly after she became Princess Grace of Monaco in 1956.

Yawn. Pretty dry stuff, huh? Dresses on mannequins have no sparkle. What they needed was Grace Kelly.

Grace Kelly as Lisa Fremont in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 thriller, “Rear Window.” (“Grace Kelly: Floating on Chiffon,” Lisa’s History Room)

So instead of trying to catalog for you all the dresses in the V & A, I have picked my personal favorite and shown it as worn by the eternally beautiful Grace Kelly. It is the Paris dress she wore as sophisticate Lisa Carol Fremont in the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock classic, “Rear Window.”

The dress with a fitted black bodice and deep V-cut bustline was designed for Kelly by Paramount Picture’s chief costume designer Edith Head. The full skirt falls to mid-calf, gathered and layered in white chiffon and tulle. From the nipped-in waist, a spray branch pattern falls playfully over the hip. Grace accessorized her high-fashion gown with white silk gloves, pearls, and a chiffon shoulder wrap.

To read the “Rear Window” script excerpt wherein “Lisa-Carol- Fremont” enters Jimmy Stewart‘s apartment wearing this outfit, click here.

Grace Kelly sits on steps in her “Paris” dress she wore in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 “Rear Window.” The gown had a light & airy quality with a slender waist and a beautiful skirt made from yards and yards of tulle and chiffon. The black and white confection was created by Paramount Pictures costume designer Edith Head. (“Grace Kelly: Floating on Chiffon,” Lisa’s History Room)

For more on Grace Kelly, click here.

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