Concept

Rainier III, Prince of Monaco

Summary
Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years. Rainier was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, the only son of Hereditary Princess Charlotte and Prince Pierre. During his reign, he was responsible for the transformation of Monaco's economy, shifting from its traditional casino gambling base to its current status as a tax haven and cultural destination. The Prince also coordinated the substantial reforms of Monaco's constitution, which limited the powers of sovereign rule. Rainier married American film star Grace Kelly in 1956, which generated global media attention. They had three children: Caroline, Albert and Stéphanie. He died in April 2005 from complications relating to a lung infection as a result of frequent smoking; he was succeeded by his son, Albert II. Rainier was born at Prince's Palace in Monaco, the first native-born prince since Honoré IV in 1758. Rainier's mother, Charlotte was the only child of Louis II, Prince of Monaco, and his lover, Marie Juliette Louvet; she was legitimised through formal adoption and subsequently named heiress presumptive to the throne of Monaco. Rainier's father, Count Pierre of Polignac was half-French and half-Mexican, who adopted his wife's dynasty, Grimaldi, upon marriage, and was made a Prince of Monaco by his father-in-law. Rainier had an older sister, Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massy. His parents divorced in 1933. Rainier's early education was conducted in England, at the public schools of Summerfields in St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex, and after 1935 at Stowe School, in Buckinghamshire. Rainier then attended the Institut Le Rosey in Rolle and Gstaad, Switzerland from 1939, before continuing to the University of Montpellier in France, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1943, before studying at Sciences Po Paris in Paris. In 1944, the day before his 21st birthday, Rainier's mother renounced her right to the Monegasque throne and Rainier became Prince Louis's direct heir.
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