Monaco goes into mourning
2005-04-06 12:58
Monaco - Prince Rainier of Monaco died on Wednesday at the age of 81 after a month in hospital fighting heart, lung and kidney problems, ending a life marked by Hollywood glamour after his marriage to Grace Kelly.
The prince died at 06:35, a palace official said.
Rainier - who ruled the tiny Mediterranean principality since 1949 and was the world's second longest-reigning monarch after the king of Thailand - was hospitalised on March 7. He had been treated several times in recent years for heart and breathing difficulties.
His condition took a sudden turn for the worse nearly two weeks ago. On Thursday the state's royal council decreed that Rainier was no longer in a position to "exercise his duties," and said that his only son Albert was taking over as regent.
Smaller than Central Park
After the death was announced, church bells tolled across the principality, which is smaller than New York's Central Park. Television and radio stations in the principality interrupted normal programmes to air classical music and tributes to the late sovereign.
He will be remembered as a "builder prince" and for leaving a legacy of five decades of stability, said English-language Riviera Radio.
The flag above the royal palace was already at half-mast because of the death of Pope John Paul II. The mood among the devoutly Catholic population of 32 000 had been sombre for several weeks as the two leaders approached the end of their lives.
Shopkeepers in the old town of Monaco below the royal palace placed black ribbons on flags in their window displays. Local people were expecting an announcement from the palace on procedures for mourning and arrangements for the funeral.
By tradition the funeral takes place between seven and nine days after the sovereign's death.
"It is a time of great sorrow for the principality. But Prince Albert will ensure the continuity of his father's rule. That's what he was brought up for and we know he will do it," said Francis Roque, a pizzeria owner.
Among the foreign tributes, President Jacques Chirac of France said Rainier was "a figure who was universally respected and much loved in the principality ... His courage and tenacity in the face of illness will remain with us as an example."
In his 55 years in power he is credited with transforming the microstate from a Riviera Ruritania into a thriving centre of tourism and banking, using his contacts and business acumen to diversify the economy and attract the interest of the rich and famous.
But the prince will always be best remembered for his fairytale marriage in 1956 to the American film star Grace Kelly, which produced three children, then ended in tragedy when Princess Grace died in a car crash in 1982. He never remarried.
- AFP