Grace of Monaco

by Robinson, Jeffrey

  At one point Grace spotted somebody she wanted to meet, walked up to him and said, “Good evening, I’m Grace of Monaco.”

  Such was the tone of the evening that he simply extended his hand and said, “Good evening, I’m Tito.”

  Grace and Rainier were two of the 94 guests seated at the Shah’s long zigzag head table. Rainier was next to the Duke of Edinburgh while Grace sat next to an Eastern bloc prime minister. She and the gentleman chatted amiably over dinner in French and German, but when he followed dessert with a cigar and inadvertently blew a huge cloud of blue smoke in her direction, Grace sneezed.

  Unfortunately, she sneezed so hard that she popped some of the buttons on the back of her Givenchy gown.

  And the dress opened.

  Horrified, her lady-in-waiting rushed to the Princess’s aid.

  So did the Prince.

  But they were both too late.

  Neither of them could do anything more than stand by helplessly while Grace—who figured that her wardrobe malfunction coming as it did after a meal like that, had to be the perfect ending to a perfect evening—instantly doubled up in great convulsions of laughter.

  GqH

  In the summer of 1981, the family took a cruise together on the French ship, Mermoz. Stephanie didn’t join them because she was at summer camp in the States. But Grace, Rainier, Caroline, and Albert, plus a few old family friends sailed up the coast of Norway to the North Cape for a look at what was left of the late-summer midnight sun.

  Typically, the Mermoz entertainment program featured a costume night. Grace and Rainier dressed as pirates and stole the show.

  A few nights later, the ship’s magician performed.

  Unbeknownst to their parents, Caroline had already met him and secretly rehearsed with him. So that evening, when he announced that his grand finale would be to saw a woman in half and needed a volunteer, he yanked Caroline out of the audience.

  Grace and Rainier gasped.

  Caroline lay down in the box as the magician pulled out some very long knives.

  Her parents were now in a near state of shock.

  After making a point of mentioning how the trick sometimes goes wrong, the magician proceeded to saw her in half.

  Much to everyone’s relief he also managed to put her back together again.

  Rainier said he’d figured out right away that she was in on it. “I was merely hoping that she’d do everything she was supposed to when she was supposed to do it.”

  Caroline and her parents laughed about that night for years. “It was pretty hilarious.”

  But when Grace got killed, at least for a while, the laughter stopped.

  Chapter 19

  Teamwork

  Like any good team, with Grace and Rainier, too, there was a distinct separation of responsibilities.

  Grace never concerned herself with matters of state, politics, or government. She dealt with anything that had to do with the arts, their social life, the running of the Palace, and what might be called human relations.

  Rainier said there were indeed many times when he spoke to Grace about affairs of state, but Grace once told her press attaché, Nadia Lacoste, that when he mentioned such subjects, she considered it as if he was merely thinking out loud.

  She acknowledged, “I never give him any advice unless he asks for it.”

  Not that she necessarily hid her opinions.

  When pigeon shooting came to Monte Carlo in the 19th century, they used live birds. When Grace moved to Monaco and saw how birds were still being slaughtered, she begged her husband to abolish it. And he did.

  Later, when the new convention center was being built and the question came up of a name for it, she proposed that it be named after him.

  The Prince’s response was, “That sort of thing isn’t important to me.”

  Grace held her ground and in the end won out.

  But, as he was not the type of man who seeks self-promotion, it wasn’t easy.

  Grace’s cousin John Lehman saw the Rainier-Grace partnership up close since his first visit to Monaco in 1965. “Monaco in those days was like something out of Central Casting. Dowager Russian princesses and out-of-work Balkan kings. Monaco was a very stodgy watering spot for European millionaires and down-at-the-heel aristocrats. But you could see changes starting. Rainier was determined to bring Monaco into the 20th century while still maintaining a certain dignity. He didn’t view himself as the prince of the millionaires. He wanted to breathe life into the economy, to provide jobs and create a more wholesome environment for the people. Today it’s the most remarkable achievement. Grace and Rainier accomplished it together. They were the most totally complete marriage I’ve ever witnessed. They were very different personalities but you can’t separate them. Rainier’s vision of Monaco was the guiding force. He clearly wore the pants. But she was no shrinking violet when it came to her own views.”

  Another person who observed the partnership up close was Rainier’s old Lebanese chum, Khalil el Khoury. “In a small group of intimate friends you could see how comfortable Grace and Rainier were together. He was 100 percent Latin and she was 100 percent American and, in spite of their differences of upbringing and culture, they functioned like a team. It was when they were forced to show themselves in public that they were sometimes under strain. Especially the Prince. She made him see more people than he might have tended to. But most couples are this way. They change each other. He became more sociable. She made him realize the virtues of public relations. The world became fascinated with Monaco’s image and the family’s image. He understood it and did it gracefully. I wouldn’t say he loved every minute of it because he’s the sort of man who prefers getting to know people on a one-to-one basis. His is the more reserved approach to life and people. But he did it because it was right for Monaco.”

  It was as a team that Grace and Rainier rejuvenated the Monte Carlo orchestra and brought world-class artists to perform there; encouraged the revitalization of SBM’s hotels; built an addition to the hospital; sponsored races, rallies and regattas; oversaw vast improvements in the public utilities and communications; championed construction of the new golf course at Mont Agel and built the public swimming pool at the port.

  They traveled together, appearing together at all the right places because being seen helped to bring tourists to Monaco. They worked as a team to create a public image for themselves and the principality. But when it came to stardom, Grace held the ultimate pulling power. She was the magic.

  Her talent was understanding how to market Monaco to the outside world without ever once giving the impression that she was selling something.

  It was Grace who brought celebrity tennis tournaments to Monaco; convinced American television to tape shows there; attracted bigger and bigger names to the weekly galas; brought major stars to the orchestra, the opera, and the ballet. It was Grace who brought celebrities in every field to Monaco, seeking out writers, artists, scientists, and politicians.

  It was Grace who turned Monaco back into a place to be seen. And that, in turn, attracted people who wanted to see.

  There were times when you could walk down the street and bump into almost anyone.

  Start with Henry Kissinger.

  Commented Rainier, “He stayed with us once in the Palace. He was very professorial. You’d ask a simple question and he’d answer with the entire university-level course.”

  Then add Dr. Albert Schweitzer.

  “He gave a lecture here,” Rainier said, “and the principality donated an operating room, with all the equipment, for his hospital. I found his attitude to be a very noble one. I don’t think enough has been said or written about him. Maybe he’s even been a little forgotten. That’s too bad. He set a great example, all the more so because what he did had no political resonance at all. He was far above that. His was pure human kindness and concern for people, with no other considerations.”

  Cary Grant was also a Monaco regular.

  As handsome a
s ever, tall and tanned with snow-white hair, he always stayed in one of the guest rooms at the Palace. Grant returned year after year as a judge at the Circus Festival, giving that event a little extra touch of sophistication.

  Of course, Frank Sinatra was there a lot.

  Some years he’d only come for a week, others he came to stay for a month. He’d take the big suite on the eighth floor of the Hotel de Paris, play tennis at the Country Club, go to the Beach Club, and hang out at some of the better-known restaurants. But he was most visible every evening when he held court in the hotel bar. And when Sinatra was in residence, business boomed.

  Another Monaco regular was Winston Churchill. He came often in the years before the war and returned just after the German surrender. From then, until the end of his life, he made several 10-week visits to the Hotel de Paris.

  Rainier said he got to know Churchill fairly well. “But I’m not sure anyone could have gotten to know him very well. He came here a lot when Onassis was here. He was a great character. I found out that he loved to see films so Grace and I used to invite him to spend the evening with us. We’d built a projection room in one of the old stables and once or twice a week we’d show a film and serve a buffet supper. Except that he was such a stickler about food he’d eat dinner first at the Hotel de Paris. He liked coming to us for movies because there weren’t too many people and we’d always put a bottle of cognac next to him. I remember one of the films he saw with us was Lawrence of Arabia. Afterwards he was very excited and couldn’t stop telling us, ‘I knew that man.’”

  But the stars really came to town for the Grand Prix and the Red Cross Ball.

  The Monaco Grand Prix bills itself as the greatest Formula One race in the world. And even if it isn’t, it is certainly the best known. Actually it’s a pair of events. There’s the race, which is a sporting event, and there’s the celebration of that race, which is one of Europe’s major tourist attractions. The tarmac at the airport at Nice is never covered with as many private jets as it is during Grand Prix weekend. The harbor at Monaco is never filled with as many huge boats as it is during that weekend. The bar at the Hotel de Paris is never as crowded with as many easily recognizable people as it is that weekend.

  “What makes Monaco really special,” according to racing legend Stirling Moss who raced in Monaco from 1950–1961 and won three times, “is the atmosphere and the demanding nature of the circuit. It’s a relatively safe circuit but it’s very tricky. It’s a beautiful, exciting place with an enormous amount of character, and the public, for whom you are performing, are very close to you. They’re virtually on top of the cars. They can see you and you can see them. When I was racing, I’ll never forget there was a very cute girl with pale pink lipstick who always stood in front of Oscar’s Bar and every time I went past I’d blow her a kiss. Monaco is one of those sort of places.”

  Jackie Stewart, also a three-time winner there, agreed. “If you think of the history of motor sport, it was created from road racing around cities or from town to town. Racing through the streets of Monte Carlo is really a legacy of the basic origins of Grand Prix racing. It’s also the most glamorous because it has as a backdrop the Riviera, the Mediterranean, the Maritime Alps. It has great hotels, wonderful restaurants and beautiful women. If you think about what Grand Prix racing represents, it’s glamorous, it’s exciting and it’s colorful. Monte Carlo projects all of those elements.”

  And the sovereign family, he went on, has a lot to do with it. “They’re one of the ingredients that make up the perfect pie. They attend the race. They’re an integral part of it. Now add in the most glamorous and richest people in the world. Everybody who is anybody arrives. It’s just after the Cannes Film Festival so you get a lot of the wash from that.”

  He noted that the Europeans come, and the Americans come and the South Americans come up after they’ve been to Carnival in Rio. “They have big yachts or a suite in the Hotel de Paris. They go to the gala in the Sporting. They eat at Rampoldi’s. Maybe they’re invited to the Palace on the Saturday night. The Riviera is fresh, it’s new, not like it is in July or August when it’s a mass of people. The grass is still green, nobody’s walked on it, the sun hasn’t yet parched it. People come down from the mountains. They’ve had their winter at St Moritz or Gstaad or Vail or Aspen and they’ve come over for the Grand Prix weekend in Monaco. To have a good suite in the Hotel de Paris for the Grand Prix is a passport to whatever you need.”

  Traditionally, the sovereign family would watch the start of the race from their private box, then disappear until the end of the race. Grace didn’t care for all the noise. But when Rainier handed out the trophies, she was there at his side.

  And when the sovereign family made their entrance at the Red Cross Ball every August, he was there at her side.

  The Red Cross Ball is without any doubt the largest, most spectacular event of its kind in Europe. It’s not just the stars who perform there, it’s the designer clothes and, especially, the jewelry. This may be the one night in the European social calendar when people who have serious money, seriously wear it.

  Rainier formed the Monaco Red Cross in the late 1940s and for the first six or seven years the galas mainly featured European performers. Only occasionally did anyone come from the United States, like in 1954 when a young singer named Ella Fitzgerald had third billing.

  Grace made the difference. She took over as President of the organization and gave the ball a big-money Hollywood stature it could never have attained without her. Yet, she never lost sight of its popular appeal.

  Just before Frank Sinatra’s first concert there, a friend went to Grace and said, “You ought to up the price for the gala. It’s a charity event and nobody can draw a bigger crowd than Sinatra.”

  Grace’s answer was typical. “If we up the price some people I like won’t be able to afford it.”

  She also kept an eye on the show itself, because in the mid-1970s the topless craze had finally hit Monaco.

  While women could casually shun half their bikini at the other beaches along the coast, it was frowned upon in Monaco, largely because Grace thought it totally unnecessary. For one ball, when the producer flouted tradition and introduced topless chorus girls in his revue, arguing it’s been like this for years at the Moulin Rouge and the Folies Bergere, and Monaco must keep up with the times, Grace remained unconvinced. But she knew that if she protested too loudly she’d merely create headlines in the papers to the embarrassment of everyone involved.

  So she handled it with typical savoir-faire. She explained to the producer how she felt it would be more appropriate if his dancers did not show their breasts, at least on this occasion. She won her case when she reminded him, “After all, it’s a very dressy evening.”

  Over the years, just about everybody who was anybody in the nightclub world has performed at the Red Cross Ball. Not surprisingly, the biggest star of all was Sinatra. He was also, probably, the most difficult.

  At that first appearance in 1980 he wanted extra tables put on the dance floor so that more people could be there. He wanted the orchestra to fill the stage and then announced he didn’t want the dancers to do their number. He said all he wanted to do was walk on, do his bit, and that would be the evening.

  Unfortunately, they couldn’t put the orchestra where Sinatra wanted it but no one had the nerve to tell him. The chore fell to Grace. She explained to her old pal that people entered the room across the stage. She also had to tell him that it was traditional to have the dance floor available so that she and Rainier could open the ball. He agreed to everything except letting the revue precede him. He said the Red Cross Ball that year was going to be Sinatra and only Sinatra.

  The chorus dancers who’d rehearsed an entire revue were furious. They begged the producer to ask Sinatra if he wasn’t embarrassed that he was refusing to let entertainers work or had he forgotten what it was like at the beginning of his career?

  Again it was Grace who stepped in. She understood ho
w upset the dancers were, so she personally apologized to them on Sinatra’s behalf and, to make amends, invited the entire company to the Palace the next day for cocktails around the swimming pool.

  Out of friendship to Rainier, Sinatra returned with Sammy Davis, Jr. for the 1983 Red Cross Ball, the most emotional one of all, as it was the first one after Grace’s death.

  Since Caroline knew she could always count on him, she phoned Sinatra a few years later when Liza Minnelli had to cancel at the last minute because of a sore throat. That year he took to the stage with Elton John.

  Another Red Cross Ball that stands out as magical was back in the mid-1970s when Sammy Davis, Jr. didn’t show up. That afternoon Davis suddenly decided he didn’t like the way things were being organized. He’d heard there’d been a dinner the night before at the Palace and because he wasn’t invited he felt insulted. Then he had a run-in with the SBM people. He screamed, to hell with this, climbed onto a friend’s boat, and sailed off into the sunshine for St. Tropez. By 9:00 that night, with the guests beginning to arrive at the gala, no one had yet come up with a replacement act.

  Looking around the room, one of the SBM directors suggested that as a last resort they simply ask some of the stars attending the ball to do a couple of numbers.

  They spotted Bill Cosby. He told the audience that evening, “They asked me to fill in for Sammy because they think I look like him.”

  He also explained that the first time he’d met Grace someone suggested, “You probably already know each other because you both come from Philadelphia.” His response was, “Yes, of course, we know each other. Her family owned my family.”

  Next they spotted Burt Bacharach and he agreed to play. They hoped Liza Minnelli might sing, but she begged off.

  Then they saw the legendary Josephine Baker. An SBM director quietly explained the situation to the 67-year-old French music hall star from St. Louis, Missouri, and asked politely if she’d be kind enough to sing a number or two.