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Posts Tagged ‘Princess Grace’

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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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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No More Cold Feet: Charlene Marries Albert

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

South African Charlene Wittstock, 33, weds Prince Albert of Monaco, 53.

A day after the civil wedding that transformed one-time Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock into the Princess of Monaco, the South African and her prince, Albert II exchanged vows in the religious ceremony today.

The happy both couple both answered ‘oui’ (yes) to the Archbishop of Monaco, Bernard Barsi, who conducted the service in front of 850 guests.

Wearing an off-the-shoulder Armani dress, the new Princess Charlene on Monaco looked serene and beautiful as she wed Prince Albert in the courtyard of the Prince’s Palace.

Read more at The Daily Mail.

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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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Grace Kelly and the Bust Inspector

Posted in Grace Kelly, PEOPLE, Princess Grace (Grace Kelly), STAGE & SCREEN, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on October 13, 2010| 6 Comments »

 

American movie actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982) had an encounter with a “Bust Inspector” during the production of the 1954 film Rear Window. However, this “BI” was not a censor dispatched by the Motion Pictures Production Code crew (See “Elizabeth Taylor and the Bust Inspector.”) The person attempting to meddle with Grace’s bust was none other than the film’s director: Alfred Hitchcock. Grace recalled: 

“At the rehearsal for the scene in Rear Window when I wore a sheer nightgown, Hitchcock called for [Paramount costume designer] Edith Head. He came over here and said, ‘Look, the bosom is not right, we’re going to have to put something in there.’ He was very sweet about it; he didn’t want to upset me, so he spoke quietly to Edith.

 When we went into my dressing room and Edith said, ‘Mr. Hitchcock is worried because there’s a false pleat here. He wants me to put in falsies.’ Well, I said, ‘You can’t put falsies in this, it’s going to show and I’m not going to wear them.’ And she said, ‘What are we going to do?’

 So we quickly took it up here, made some adjustments there, and I just did what I could and stood as straight as possible – without falsies. When I walked out onto the set Hitchcock looked at me and at Edith and said, ‘See what a difference they make?'”

Grace Kelly wears a silky negligee in a movie still from the 1954 murder-mystery, “Rear Window.” Costume designer Edith Head recalled Kelly giggling upon spotting her reflection in the mirror. “Why, I look like a peach parfait!” she said.

Readers: For more on Grace Kelly (Princess Grace of Monaco), 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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