- Rainier III
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/ray near", re-, reuh-/; Fr. /rdde nyay"/, n.Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand de Grimaldi /lwee ahonn rddee" mannk sahonns" berdd trddahonn" deuh grddee mannl dee"/, Prince of Monaco, born 1923, reigning prince of Monaco since 1949.
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orig. Rainier-Louis-Henri-Maxence-Bertrand de Grimaldiborn May 31, 1923, Monacodied April 6, 2005, MonacoPrince of Monaco (1949–2005), 31st in a line of hereditary rulers.He intensified, expanded, and diversified Monaco's enterprises, including its industry. Through land reclamation from the sea, he expanded the principality's territory by one-fifth. His most significant political reform was the promulgation of a new constitution, based on modern principles without repudiating tradition. His wedding to Grace Kelly in 1956 attracted worldwide attention.* * *
▪ 2006Prince Rainier-Louis-Henri-Maxence-Bertrand de GrimaldiMonegasque constitutional monarch (b. May 31, 1923, Monaco—d. April 6, 2005, Monaco), maintained Monaco's aura of glamour and intrigue while building the tiny principality into an economically thriving European nation. His 1956 marriage to American actress Grace Kelly struck many as a fairy-tale courtship and wedding, and their children (Princess Caroline, Prince Albert, and Princess Stephanie) grew up in the public eye. (This storybook image was maintained when Rainier did not remarry after Princess Grace died tragically in an automobile accident in 1982.) Rainier was the son of Prince Pierre, count de Polignac, and Princess Charlotte de Monaco, the daughter of Louis II, the reigning prince of Monaco. He was educated in England, Switzerland, and France. During World War II he served in the French army, receiving battlefield decorations. In 1944 Princess Charlotte renounced her right to succession, and when Louis II died in 1949, Rainier succeeded his grandfather to become the 31st hereditary ruler of Monaco. He diversified Monaco's long-standing monoculture of casino tourism to include banking and finance, and he oversaw huge construction projects. Rainier led Monaco into UN membership in 1993 and to adoption of the euro as its official currency in 2002. In 1997 he led the celebrations as the Grimaldi family marked its 700-year reign in Monaco, and in 2002 he modified Monaco's constitution to ensure that his daughters and their legitimate children would continue the Grimaldi dynasty if his son, who succeeded Rainier as Albert II , did not have a legitimate heir.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
