Princely Family of Monaco

[Elly C]

I think the best biography of Grace was by George Englund. It was published a couple of years after her death. The author had apparently been in contact with her and while she wanted to write her own autobiography at some point she agreed to contact people and allow them to talk to the author. It wasn;t all tabloid gossip like so many books have been.

It is Steven Englund - & yes I agree it is one of the best and most detailed biographies. The others I rate are Robert Lacey's & Sarah Bradford's accounts, and of course the autorised biography of Gwen Robyns.

 

[Elly C]

Over on the Princess Grace thread, Newbie JennieN was asking about biographies of Rainier. There is an official authorised biography by Peter Hawkins which was written in 1966 - you could probably get a copy on ABE books or Amazon marketplace - but obviously it only deals with the earlier years of his marriage. In answer to your other questions about Rainier's reported temper, yes I have read that too. In "Rainier & Grace" by Jeffrey Robinson, he recalls an interview with Stephanie when she mentions her dad's anger..."He doesn't stay angry long. But his voice changes & it gets pretty scarey for a few minutes. Then he calms down and he's a sweet little ***** cat. Still when he keeps growling, it's best to keep out of his way..." There's a few more sentences in that vein.
As to your other questions about Grace's alleged affairs with some of her leading men, well that is pretty widely reported in both biographies & TV interviews, but I personally think some writers have exaggerated & dwelt obsessively on this.

Just noticed the asterix above - it wasn't a rude word in the context quoted!

 

[KittyAtlanta]

Hollywood contemporaries of Grace (according to my mother) used to make comment about knowing Grace before she became a virgin.

 

[NGalitzine]

Hollywood contemporaries of Grace (according to my mother) used to make comment about knowing Grace before she became a virgin.

One Hollywood wag commented that Grace may never have stolen another womans husband but she certainly borrowed a few.

 

[Warren]

Don't stop there KA and NG, keep 'em coming; you two are on a roll!

 

[Elly C]

Don't stop there KA and NG, keep 'em coming; you two are on a roll!

Warren you are naughty!

 

[NoorMeansLight]

'High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly' by Donald Spoto

Here's an article about this biography: 'High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly,' by Donald Spoto - ABC News

It sounds truly interesting and I am about to order it. But I'd like to read our forum members' reviews first. Has anyone read it? What do you think about it?

 

[NGalitzine]

I read it a while back. My impression was that it like reading a bunch of People magazine articles and old gossip columns. I didnt find anything new or especially interesting in it.

 

[NoorMeansLight]

Thank you, NGalitzine! But Spoto himself says that he corrected previous biographers, especially on Grace's love affairs before her marriage. I guess my question should be: might this bio be more reliable than the previous ones?

 

[Elly C]

It's a while since I read it but I don't recall feeling that this account of Grace's life particularly stood out for any new revelations. I think it was a fairly sanitised version but was interesting for the author's own account of meetings with Grace.

 

[NoorMeansLight]

A sanitised version, this is what I was afraid of. I usually avoid those. Who knows, maybe he just wanted to please the Grimaldis. Personally I find Robert Lacey's 'Grace' a very remarkable bio and a fascinating read. Thank you for your contribution, Elly C!

 

[Elly C]

I just got a copy of the book of black & white photos of Albert &Charlene's wedding: Albert et Charlene published by editions du Rocher. It has no text and contains some lovely intimate pictures from the various events of the wedding weekend. There are many beautiful shots of Charlene including one at the Palais with portrait of Grace in the background, and some great shots of Alexandra clearly enjoying the day. I don't have a scanner so I can't post any pics, but I can recommend it.

 

[melina premiere]

Yes, Elly C I also recommend it, there are lovely intimate photos we never saw, there are many beautiful photos in black and white

 

[NoorMeansLight]

Hollywood contemporaries of Grace (according to my mother) used to make comment about knowing Grace before she became a virgin.

Now this is a riot, thanks so much for sharing!! lolol


Back to the books. I had heard about George Englund's bio of Grace but didn't know it was that good. So, right after reading Robert Lacey's book, would you recommend Englund's? I just don't want to get disappointed, I enjoyed Lacey's account very much!

 

[Warren]

There isn't much to be found about Englund's book apart from the bare details and one very enthusiastic review from 2004 which is repeated across various book sites, and there is nothing I could find to explain the title.

"Grace of Monaco: An Interpretive Biography"
Steven Englund
first published 1984
3 editions

blurb
"A beloved film star who married a prince, Grace Kelly's life was a fairy tale that ended in abrupt tragedy. Though one of the most famous women in the world, few people knew what she was really like. Now, Englund provides a riveting portrait as seen through the eyes of the people closest to her."

review
"This is by far the best book I have ever read about Grace Kelly, Princess Grace of Monaco. Steven Englund did a remarkable job in bringing humanity and depth to Princess Grace, from her acting days, to her marriage to the Prince of Monaco. What I found poignantly touching was how much Grace missed her acting days, and how she was not able to continue acting due to her role as Princess of Monaco.

Grace was the epitome of a gem of a soul who sought to help the sick, the poor, and the downtrodden. She did so through charities she created, and set an example of the power of giving.

If you are interested in reading a biography that is in depth, genuine, and filled with examples to follow, I highly recommend this book. Outstanding!
Barbara Rose, author of, 'Individual Power' and 'If God Was Like Man'. "
[Barbara can also be found, unsurprisingly, at BornToInspire.com]

v cover
reproduced for promotional purposes

 

[Elly C]

I rate Englund's biography as one of the best. It is extremely detailed and from what I remember well written.

 

[NoorMeansLight]

Thank you for your comment Warren, much appreciated! I may order the bio anyway, remarkable or not, just to satisfy my curiosity.

 

[Grandduchess24]

Books that I know of relating to the royal family of monaco:
- The Grace Kelly years : princess of monaco
by frederic mitterrand

- the grimaldis of monaco
by anne edwards

- princess of monaco: the story of gace kelly
by gant gaither

- caroline and stephanie: the lives of the princesses of monaco
by susan crimp

- once upon a time: behind the fairy tale of princess grace and prince ranier
by j. randy taraborrelli

- true grace: the life and times of an american princess
by wedy leigh

They all look to be good books to have if an fan of the princely family

 

[Elly C]

Charlene magazine
Just picked up this special edition magazine celebrating the first year of Charlene as princess of Monaco. Although the text is in French, there are plenty of lovely pics - would really recommend it.

 

[dbarn67]

Albert & Charlene interviewed on CBS This Morning right now.

 

[LN Fowler]

Rainier & Grace

Thirty years after the death of Princess Grace, American author Jeffrey Robinson has revised and updated his 1989 international bestseller, Rainier & Grace as an eBook.

Jeffrey lived in the south of France for many years and knew the Grimaldi family well, including Princess Grace. Prince Rainier, Prince Albert and Princesses Caroline and Stephanie all cooperated with the book, which has over the years, been liberally cited in these forums.

It is available in Kindle and Nook formats, and links to those pages can be found on Jeffrey's facebook page:

Jeffrey Robinson - Writer | Facebook

He hopes you enjoy it, especially the never-before-told story that he added for this edition of being with Princess Caroline in London two days before the accident.

The love story that was Rainier's and Grace's is endlessly fascinating and has never been told better than in Rainier & Grace.

 

[Elly C]

The November edition of Tatler magazine has an article about the Grimaldi family entitled "Hey, hey we're the Grimaldi's"! It covers mainly old ground about the relationships of the various children & grandchildren of Rainier & Grace- particularly featuring Caroline's children.

 

[Elly C]

Jeffrey Robinson has updated his biography "Rainier & Grace" with a publication date and a new title to coincide with the Grace film.

Amazon

Obviously this has been in the planning for sometime, and before all the controversy about the film emerged so Mr. Robinson, who is a personal friend of the Grimaldi family, must be more than a little embarrassed about the situation. In a recent interview for The Lady magazine, he commented " The writer got Grace totally wrong ...don't tell me this is a biopic when the writer didn't have a clue who he was writing about."

 

[Elly C]

I recently purchased My Days with Princess Grace of Monaco link.
I thoroughly recommend it as one of the few recent publications that has some new information about Grace and her life in Monaco. It provides all kinds of little gems about her life with Rainier without resorting to gossip or scandal. Another treat is some previously unseen photos.

 

[Elly C]

I thought I would share with you a brillant offer I came across on Amazon for a newly translated biography of Grace which I have just purchased but haven't read yet.

Amazon

( My link is to the Kindle edition but you can get the hardback for just over £2 too - scoll down to the box on the left)

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Sometimes Antoinette's grandfather Louis II went to visit his Hamilton cousins in Scotland. Did Antoinette and Rainier visit their cousins the Hamiltons?

 

[Elly C]

There has been very little in the way of new titles about any of the Monaco royals recently. Unsurprisingly, it is still titles about Grace that get published. This latest one is a gem for collectors of "all things Grace" .
Grace Kelly Hollywood Dream Girl by Jay Jorgensen and Manoah Bowman is not only a beautiful photographic record of Grace during her years as an actress, it also contains some interesting short essays about her life drawn from reliable sources. Many of the photos which are beautifully reproduced here are quite rare - a few I have never seen before. The book does continue beyond her life in Hollywood and up to her untimely death, but this is not the book's main focus (even though again there are some interesting snippets and photos). Not unreasonably priced for a glossy book of this quality-see prices on Amazon- I can thoroughly recommend this as a Christmas present to yourself ! As someone who has been collecting books about Grace for some considerable time, I think this new title will become one of my favourites.

 

[burbankstorylady]

Hi, Royal Forums. I know most of you are too smart to fall for this, but just in case there is that one outlier who simply does not notice it, I want to point it out.
H. Pemberton published his History of Monaco (Past and Present) in 1867. This is a public domain work, so it is FREE to read. However, there are people who will try to sell it to you, often for outrageous prices. I have seen people do this on Amazon; they'll put out a copy of it and mark it up like $10. There are also some very outrageously priced hardback versions elsewhere on the internet.

This book, I repeat, is something you can read for free, so it's ridiculous to buy it.

Google Books is our friend!

https://books.google.com/books?id=K...6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=Pemberton Monaco&f=false

Sometimes Antoinette's grandfather Louis II went to visit his Hamilton cousins in Scotland. Did Antoinette and Rainier visit their cousins the Hamiltons?

I think they did, yes. Well, maybe not Antoinette, but I believe that Rainier did.

This is one of my favorites. I have archived it at the Wayback Machine because I'm always paranoid Birgitte will delete her website.

History of Monaco
https://web.archive.org/web/20171201161107/http://worldroots.com/brigitte/monaco2.html

History of Monaco (includes the Treaty of 1918)
https://web.archive.org/web/20171201161500/http://worldroots.com/brigitte/monaco.html

Origins of the House of Grimaldi
https://web.archive.org/web/20171201161650/http://worldroots.com/brigitte/royal/grimaldi.html

The Grimaldis of Monaco by Phyllida Hart-Davis
https://web.archive.org/web/20171201162101/http://worldroots.com/brigitte/royal/grimald.html

Last Will of Prince Rainier III
https://web.archive.org/web/2017120...com/brigitte/royal/rainiermonacolastwill.html

"A Brand New Chapter for the Heirs of Grace"
https://web.archive.org/web/20171201162000/http://worldroots.com/brigitte/royal2/monacoarticle.html

Also see my thread about Pemberton's History of Monaco.

This is another ebook about the history of Monaco, by Thomas Henry Pickering, published in 1882.

https://books.google.com/books?id=I...ering+history+of+monaco&source=gbs_navlinks_s

Click Read Ebook on the left. It's free because it's in the public domain. It is another one you might be fooled into buying.

This is my favorite. But obviously you have to be able to read French.

Written by Gustave Saige

Published by Imprimerie de Monaco, 1897

https://books.google.com/books?id=y...es origines et histoire Gustave Saige&f=false

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Thank you. I thought the excerpt of the book by Phyllida Hart-Davis was rather interesting.

 

[sophie25]

Sometimes Antoinette's grandfather Louis II went to visit his Hamilton cousins in Scotland. Did Antoinette and Rainier visit their cousins the Hamiltons?

Ranier and Antionette spent part of every Summer at Brodick Castle on the Island of Arran which is just off the West coast of Scotland. One of the titles of the Duke of Hamilton is Earl of Arran and Brodick was the family's holiday home. I read an article by R and A's cousin Lady Jean who spent Summers there with him and his sister.She said that he continued to visit with Grace and their children and that Albert had Charlene have also been to the castle.

There are pictures of R and A at Brodick if you check Google images.