In Memoriam: Princess Grace of Monaco (1929-1982)

Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco died on September 14, 1982 at the age of 52 at the Monaco Hospital (now called The Princess Grace Hospital Center).  The day before, Princess Grace had been driving her youngest child Princess Stephanie back to Monaco from their country home and apparently suffered a minor stroke which caused her to lose control of the car.  The car, which had been traveling on winding roads, careened off a mountainside.  Princess Grace suffered serious injuries and never regained consciousness.  Although it was initially reported that Princess Stephanie received only minor injuries, she suffered a serious cervical fracture.  After a requiem mass on September 18, 1982 at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Monaco, the princess was buried at the cathedral in the Grimaldi family vault.

Born Grace Patricia Kelly on November 12, 1929 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of John (Jack) Kelly, a self-made millionaire and the winner of three Olympic Gold Medals in sculling.  To the dismay of her family, Grace pursued a career in acting which resulted in a successful film career.  She won the Academy Award for Best Actress of 1954 for her role in “The Country Girl.”

In April of 1955, Grace met Prince Rainier III of Monaco at the Cannes Film Festival in France and a romance ensued.  The couple was married in a civil ceremony that took place in the Palace Throne Room of Monaco on April 18, 1956.  The religious ceremony took place the next day at Monaco’s St. Nicholas Cathedral.

Princess Grace and Prince Rainier had three children:

1) Princess Caroline Louise Marguerite, born in 1957
2) Prince Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre, born in 1958 and who succeeded his father as Prince Albert II in 2005
3) Princess Stephanie Marie Elisabeth, born in 1965

Links:
YouTube Video: Funeral of Princess Grace
Associated Press: Monaco Mourns the Death of Princess Grace
BBC On This Day: Hollywood Princess Dead
Princess Grace Foundation