Posted on 04/06/2005 8:34:37 AM PDT by FYREDEUS
Prince Rainier III of Monaco died Wednesday, marking the end of a glittering royal fairy tale as tributes from dignitaries poured in. He was 81.
Monaco's royal palace announced Rainier's death nearly a month after he was first admitted to a heart and chest clinic with a lung infection.
"Each of us feels like an orphan because the principality has been marked by his imprint over the 56 years" Patrick Leclercq, Monaco's head of government said of Europe's longest reigning monarch.
Rainier's son and heir Prince Albert was at his bedside when he was pronounced dead at 6:35 a.m. Rainier also has two sisters, Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie.
The palace said Rainier died from the heart, kidney and lung problems that prompted his hospitalization.
Rainier's only son Albert becomes Monaco's de facto ruler until a formal ceremony expected after a mourning period. He has already taken over the royal powers of the French-speaking principality, but not yet the throne, after the royal commission ruled that Rainier was too ill to rule as prince.
As Rainier aged in recent years, Prince Albert increasingly took on more responsibility.
Under a revised succession law in 2002, Albert can assume the throne even though he is unmarried, and without children or descendants.
The leader of Europe's longest-ruling royal family, the Grimaldis, the 81-year-old prince suffered deteriorating health in recent years.
He underwent heart surgery in 1999 and another two operations in the following year.
More recently, he was hospitalized March 7 and placed in intensive care two weeks later.
Dignitaries from around Europe sent their condolences as word of his death spread.
French President Jacques Chirac hailed the prince's "courage and tenacity" in the face of his failing health.
German President Horst Koehler said he "fulfilled his duties as head of state with remarkable willpower until the end."
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II sent a message of condolence to the family.
Educated in England, Switzerland and France, Rainier joined the military service near the end of the second world war.
He assumed the throne at age 26 in 1949 and transformed the tiny state into a glittering destination for the rich and famous on the Mediterranean.
His reign has seen several scandals, including international criticism of Monaco as a tax haven for international millionaires.
He was also known as the "builder prince" for increasing the size of his territory by 20 per cent by reclaiming land and his several infrastructure projects.
"I am like the head of a company," he once said.
And in 1993, Monaco gained political recognition by gaining entry into the United Nations.
But it is the memory of his 1956 marriage to Hollywood movie star Grace Kelly that has stayed etched in people's minds.
This marriage further added further mystique to the monarch and his kingdom but the fairy tale was dramatically cut short when Princess Grace died in a 1982 tragic car crash.
To be remembered as a builder is an admirable legacy for any of us to aspire to, and his Great Love for his Princess is even more inspirational...His Serene Highness is reunited with his Beloved now...:-).
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NOTE TO ADMIN MODERATOR - I have used your 'search' feature and DID NOT find THIS article "already posted" as stated as reason for 'pulling' it??? Though there is one with a SIMILAR TITLE it is NOT the same newstory nor from the same source...if I am in error finding it and this story HAS been "already posted" and you choose to 'pull' this again please provide me a link to WHERE it has been "already posted" so I may post MY COMMENTS to THIS article in the appropriate location...THANK YOU.
Rainier also has two sisters, Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie.
Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie were Rainier's daughters. Sisters to Prince Albert.
Oh my yes...CTV is Canada's second largest national TV network so for one of their new staff to make such an error is not good...but that is why news organizations have EDITORS and proofreaders to catch such errors eh? At least two people goofed on that!
Whooops, hoist on my own petard; that should have been "news staff" not "new staff"...it seems I need an editor/proofreader myself LOL.
I guess his death will be overshadowed by the Pope.
Still singing...for the past few 'Sad News' days a special song;
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.
Yet, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, Who called me here below,
Shall be forever mine.
When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
HSH Prince Rainier is both with his Grace and IN His grace now :-).
So, "international criticism" is the same as a "scandal"? (I would say that confiscatory tax rates are scandalous, but that's just my point of view.)
Not for his family I'm sure, nor I suspect for his country's People who, it is my understanding, widely loved him...it's not a competition for the spotlight afterall; Mrs Schiavo, HH the Pope, HSH Prince Rainier, the thousands of others who are passing away somewhere in the World outside the media spotlight right now...the tragedy of all of those passing can never be overshadowed in the Hearts of those who know or love them or their families.
Something for the "Crown Crew"?
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