The Death Of Princess Grace
Grace Kelly, Hollywood royal turned real-life royal, died on September 14, 1982, after a tragic car accident that set forth plenty of theories and speculation, and led the world to reflect on Princess Grace’s two very different lives.
Tragic Car Accident
Princess Grace of Monaco’s death came one day after the 1972 Rover P6 3500 she was driving plunged 120 feet over an embankment in southern France.
Pierre Tourigny, Wikimedia Commons
Driving Back To The Palace
Grace had been driving her 17-year-old daughter Stéphanie from the royal family’s summer home back to their palace in Monaco when Grace crashed through a retaining wall on the edge of a particularly sharp corner.
A Train To Catch
Mother and daughter were planning to catch the train to Paris, where Princess Stéphanie was about to start another school year, before things went horribly wrong.
Howell Conant, Wikimedia Commons
Too Much Baggage
Grace’s chauffeur had offered to drive, but in a fateful decision Grace said there was too much luggage to fit three people in the car, so she’d drive instead.
Fateful Departure
On that fateful Monday morning, Grace and Stéphanie set off from the family’s summer home on the slopes of France’s Mont Agel outside of Monaco, but the car would never reach its destination.
Ominous Headache
As mother and daughter neared La Turbie, a medieval village, Grace complained of a headache, and appeared to black out briefly.
No Brakes
When she came to, Grace said the brakes weren’t working.
Hans Peters, Wikimedia Commons
Hit By A Stroke
It’s thought that Princess Grace had suffered a minor cerebral hemorrhage, but in a car traveling through hilly terrain the stroke would have major consequences.
Accelerating Danger
Perhaps because of the stroke, Grace either mistook the accelerator for the brake pedal, or lost control of her legs. Either way, the car was now out of control.
Daughter Intervenes
As the danger mounted, Stéphanie leaned over to pull the hand brake, but to no avail. She also shifted the car into park, but that didn’t help either.
MichaelXXLF, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Car Plunges
The car, hitting a sharp corner, veered off the road and plunged down the slope. Astonishingly, even after the vehicle’s long plummet, both mother and daughter were alive.
picture alliance, Getty Images
Crumpled Wreck
The car was so damaged that Stéphanie had to escape through the driver’s side, leading to false claims she had been the driver, despite witnesses reporting it was Grace they’d seen driving before the accident.
Alfred Hitchcock, Wikimedia Commons
Stéphanie Leaves The Hospital
Incredibly, Stéphanie left the hospital the next day with a light concussion, some broken ribs, and minor damage to a vertebra in her head—but her mother wasn't so fortunate.
Roland Gerrits, Wikimedia Commons
Grace’s Injuries
Although Grace suffered a broken thigh, collarbone, and ribs, these injuries were not what directly led to her death.
Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Wikimedia Commons
Another Cerebral Hemorrhage
Instead, the impact of the crash, besides causing the more obvious injuries, likely set the stage for what did prove fatal: a second cerebral hemorrhage, which put Grace into a coma.
Doctors labored valiantly, but eventually gave up hope.
Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Consultation With The Family
Grace's husband, Prince Rainier III, agreed that life support should be turned off, and Princess Grace died the evening of September 14, 1982, at the age of 52.
The Palace’s Misleading Optimism
The Palace had been putting out optimistic statements about the Princess’s condition, so her death proved particularly shocking, even to family members and palace staff.
Wrong Time, Wrong Place
One of the many sad aspects of Princess Grace's death is that if she hadn’t been driving, she likely would’ve survived the initial cerebral hemorrhage, experts suspect.
REPORTERS ASSOCIES, Getty Images
Not A Driving Fan
And she wasn’t even a driving fan. It was only the numerous dresses and boxes that filled the car that made her decide to drive. Yet even then, her chauffeur insisted he could come back for the clothes. But Grace decided to take the wheel herself.
Superzen, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
A Corner Too Sharp
Mother and daughter headed off, and as Grace complained about her headache, the fateful corner approached, requiring a 150° turn. They were but a short distance from the border of Monaco at this point.
Hans, Peter, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
No Skidmarks Were Found
A driver behind Grace’s car never saw its brake lights go on, and investigators found no skid marks, lending credence to the idea Grace never pressed on the brakes.
Pictorial Parade, Getty Images
No One Was Wearing Seat Belts
Investigators also found no evidence the brakes had failed, but they did confirm that neither driver nor passenger had been wearing seat belts.
Mondadori Portfolio, Getty Images
Boy Talk
Another theory was that mother and daughter were arguing about Stéphanie’s desire to marry her boyfriend, a racing car driver named Paul Belmondo, son of famous French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo.
Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Grace Was Possibly Distracted
If true, it might suggest that Grace was distracted as she drove. Stéphanie has refused to confirm or deny the theory, saying the discussion is “strictly between the two of us.”
A Summer of Discontent
What about the strokes? Grace’s oldest daughter, Princess Caroline, has said her mother wasn’t feeling well all summer, and some people have speculated she had high blood pressure and was going through menopause.
Unknown Artist, Wikimedia Commons
Late Brain Scan
Another complication was that the large Monaco hospital Grace was brought to couldn’t perform a proper brain scan.
Instead, it took time to get her to a private clinic, which performed the scans that revealed Grace’s brain damage from the cerebral hemorrhages.
Irreversible State
Knowing that Grace was now brain dead, Prince Rainier consulted with two of his children, Caroline and Albert II. They agreed it was time for life support to be turned off. She died the evening of September 14, 1982.
Paying Their Respects
26,000 mourners filed past Grace's coffin as she lay in state at Monaco’s royal palace, and the funeral itself was seen by 100 million viewers around the world.
Gilles GIRIBALDI ,Getty Images
Movie Legends Show Up
Besides royalty and politicians, actors Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant attended, reminders of the glamorous Hollywood career that Grace Kelly had given up at the age of 26 when she became Princess Grace of Monaco.
Sunset Boulevard, Getty Images
Flashback To The Hitchcock Star
Included in her cinematic triumphs, Grace had starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window in 1954 with Stewart and the same director’s To Catch A Thief with Grant in 1955.
Dell Publications, Wikimedia Commons
Movie Shot Close To Monaco
Hitchcock shot some of To Catch A Thief in 1954 near Monaco, including in Cannes. But it was to be another year before Grace would meet her future husband.
Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Train Of Events
Actress Olivia de Havilland happened to see Grace on a train from Paris on their way to the 1955 Cannes Film Festival, and thought she should meet Prince Rainier.
USMC Military History Division, Wikimedia Commons
Meeting At The Palace
Two days later, Grace and her entourage arrived at Rainier’s Monaco palace, but the Prince was late.
Associated Booking Corp., Wikimedia Commons
Private Talk
He eventually did show up, and had a private conversation with Grace as they walked ahead of the others. Grace seemed to be enchanted from that very first encounter.
Prince Rainier would visit the United States to continue courting the charming movie star.
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
As Seen On TV
The couple married about a year later, on April 18 and 19, 1956, and broke new ground in television history with a live broadcast watched by 30 million viewers.
Trailer screenshot, Wikimedia Commons
Hollywood Hopes Dashed
Initially, Princess Grace seems to have wanted to keep on making films, but her husband squashed the idea. Instead, Grace turned her energies to her family and philanthropy.
Trailer screenshot, Wikimedia Commons
Curtains To The Silver Screen
Grace therefore had to give up not only her passion for acting, but also the high fees a top-notch Hollywood actress could demand.
Paramount Pictures, Wikimedia Commons
High Price To Pay
And the loss of income doesn’t even include the $2-million dowry she’d had to pay in order to marry into the Royal House of Grimaldi.
Studio publicity still, Wikimedia Commons
In Her Own Name
When Princess Grace died, she had just $10,000 to her name and her grandfather’s decrepit cottage in Ireland that she’d inherited. In the end, it seems Grace Kelly had become both a Princess and a Pauper.
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