Friday, September 14, 2012
Grace Kelly: 30 Years Later
Grace was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA on November 12, 1929, by the name, Grace Patricia Kelly. She was born to John B. Kelly, Sr. and Margaret Katherine Majer. She grew up as Catholic and are of Irish and German descent. While attending an Academy, Grace modeled fashion, at the age of 12 she played the lead in ‘Don’t feed the Animals’.
Grace’s father didn’t approve of her dream of acting, although, she pursued her dreams. Grace was given an interview with the school administration officer, due to her uncle. Grace made her movie debut in 1951, ‘Fourteen Hours’. She was noticed by Gary Copper and starred her in, ‘High Noon’. After her films, her acting career took off.
Grace was heading to the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. There she was invited to participate in a photo session at the Palace of Monaco with Prince Rainier III. After many delays and complications, Grace finally got to meet Rainier in Monaco. She left Monaco and came back to America, where she worker on another film, ‘The Swan’. Rainier and Grace, privately, became corresponding to each other.
In December, Rainier came to America on a tour, although many people thought that he was looking for a wife. A interviewer asked if he was seeking a wife, he answered, “No.” Rainier met Grace’s parents and three days later, he proposed, Grace accepted and the families began which was called, “The Wedding of the Century.”
Grace and Rainier both had civic and religious weddings. The 40-minute civic ceremony took place in the Palace Throne Room of Monaco on April 18, 1956. The next day, the religious wedding was held at Monaco’s Saint Nicholas Cathedral. Grace’s Wedding dress was created by MGM’s Academy Award-winning, Helen Rose.
Grace gave birth to her first daughter, nine months and four days after the wedding. A little over the year later, they announced the birth of their second child and first son, Prince Albert. 7 years later, they had another child, Princess Stephanie.
Grace was also a member of the International Best Dressed List since 1960.
On September 13, 1982, while driving with her daughter, Stephanie, to Monaco from their home country: Roc Agel, on the French side of the border, Grace suffered a stoke. Which caused her to drive her Rover p6 off the side of the road and down a mountainside. Grace was pulled alive from the wreckage, but had suffered serious injuries and being unconscious. She died the following day at the Monaco Hospital, later called “The Princess Grace Hospital Center” in 1985. Stephanie suffered only minor bruising, although it later emerged that she had suffered serious cervical fracture.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
My Top 15 Tiaras: #3: Cartier Pearl Drop Tiara
This tiara was made by Cartier Paris as a wedding gift for Princess Charlotte, mother of Prince Rainier, grandmother of Prince Albert. It was a gift from her husband, Count Pierre de Polignac (Prince Pierre of Monaco, Duke of Valentinois, as he became).
(Yes, that is another tiara around her neck)
The tiara is made of platinum and white gold, and features diamond scroll work with hanging pear-shaped pearl drops, which is why I'm choosing to call it the Cartier Pearl Drop Tiara.There are no pictures (well, as far as I know, at least) of Princess Charlotte wearing this piece. There are also no pictures of Princess Grace wearing it, so we jump to Caroline. Because Grace never wore the tiara publicly, many have assumed it passed directly to Caroline. Princess Charlotte was said to not have approved of Grace, so perhaps she did not leave her jewels to her daughter-in-law. I have no idea if Charlotte's will was ever public, which would be the only way to know for sure. And I think you have to consider that Charlotte died in 1977, and Grace died in 1982 - not giving Grace many years to wear it, if indeed the tiara did pass to her to stay in the reigning line.



