Royalties, did you know? – Who was the first great love of Prince Rainier III of Monaco?
This April 6 marked the 17th anniversary of the death of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, who was married to Hollywood icon Grace Kelly. But the sovereign of the Rock had previously lived a beautiful love story with another actress.
It was the first “wedding of the century”. On April 19, 1956, Prince Rainier III of Monaco said “yes” in front of God, 600 guests and 30 million viewers, to Hollywood star Grace Kelly. The sovereign of the Rock offered a new role to the former muse of Alfred Hitchcock, that of wife, mother and princess. However, a few years earlier, it was with another actress that the monarch of the Principality had confirmed to unite his destiny. She was French and her name was Gisèle Pascal.
To have : Prince Rainier III of Monaco and his son Prince Albert in 20 selected photos
Born in Cannes on September 17, 1921, to florist parents of Italian origin, this young woman was a great star of French cinema when her path crossed that of the Monegasque prince, 20 months her junior. Their romance began in 1947 but, two years later, Rainier ascended the throne, succeeding his grandfather Prince Louis II. And if the young monarch was madly in love with his beautiful Gisèle, some took a dim view of this romance with a commoner. Especially since a medical report had shown that the actress was sterile, which, in fact, would have prevented her from giving an heir to her prince. A diagnosis that proved to be false many years later, when she had a daughter with the one who had become her husband, the actor Raymond Pellegrin.
Prince Rainier III gives in to reason of state
Reason of State got the better of their love. After a six-year affair, the couple separated. It is said that Prince Rainier III would have declared to his advisers, the day of his break with Gisèle Pascal: “If one day my subjects believe that I am not subscribed to them, remind them that today I sacrificed my life”.