|
|
|
|
|
|
Prince Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; May 31,
1923–April 6, 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.
***
***
After grave illness in March 2005, Rainier died on April 6; his only son,
Albert, succeeded him as Prince Albert II.
Early life
Of French, German, Scottish, English, Spanish, and Italian ancestry, 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 his partner, 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.
The prince was a direct descendant of Stéphanie de Beauharnais, an adopted
daughter of Napoleon Bonaparte, and of William Thomas Beckford, the
scandalous 18th century English collector, tastemaker, writer, and eccentric.
Rainier was first sent to study at the 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 May 9, 1949, Rainier became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco on the death
of Prince Louis II. His mother had previously renounced her rights to the
throne in his favor.
In the 1940s and 1950s, the prince 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 several children.
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.
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. [1] On
March 7, 2005, he was again hospitalized with a lung infection. Rainier was
moved to the hospital's intensive care unit on March 22. One day later, on
March 23, it was announced he was on a ventilator, suffering from renal and
heart failure. On March 26, 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". [2]
On March 31, 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. [3]
On April 1, 2005, the Palace announced that Rainier's chances of recovery
were "slim"; on April 6 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 April 15, 2005, beside his wife, Princess Grace, at the
Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in 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
also is where Prince Rainier and Princess Grace were married in 1956.
Philately
Rainier III created a postal museum in 1950 by using the collections of
Albert I and Louis II. Since 1996 this museum is called Musée des timbres et
monnaies.
Creator of the philatelic Club de Monte-Carlo in 1997, he organized with its
members some exhibitions with rare and exceptional postage stamps and
letters.
During all 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. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
PRINCE RAINIER PICTURES |
|
|
Warning: include() [function.include]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/iguazufa/public_html/123celebs.net/p/prince-rainier/prince-rainier-biography.htm on line 185
Warning: include(http://www.123celebs.net/footer.htm) [function.include]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/iguazufa/public_html/123celebs.net/p/prince-rainier/prince-rainier-biography.htm on line 185
Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening 'http://www.123celebs.net/footer.htm' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/iguazufa/public_html/123celebs.net/p/prince-rainier/prince-rainier-biography.htm on line 185
|
