All about the wedding of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier
Aggiornamento: 28 ago
The month was April and the year, 1956. One of the most glamorous weddings in contemporary history took place on that date. 66 years ago, Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier in Monaco. In fact, the event was a long-awaited and grandiose one, which took place on April 18 and 19, 1956. One day alone would not be enough for such glamour. There were more than 600 guests and among them were only Aristotle Onassis, Cary Grant, Ava Gardner, Gloria Swanson and Conrad Hilton.
There was a particularity to the realization of this marriage of the nobility of the Principality of Monaco. The rules of the Napoleonic Code and the Catholic Church established that the couple should be married both in a civil ceremony, which was held on April 18, and in a religious ceremony, held on April 19.
The brief civil wedding ceremony was held in the Throne Room of the Palace and lasted just 15 minutes. At the end of the ceremony, however, there was a 25-minute recitation of all the titles Grace acquired through marriage. There were more than 140 titles. No, you did not read it wrong. More than 140 titles were obtained by Grace after the civil union. It's hard to even imagine what all these titles of nobility would be.
The next morning, April 19, as Grace arrived at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Monaco, the whole world watched. In the decoration, many tones of lilacs and many white lilies of the valley. A typical setting for a royal wedding.
A curious fact of the dream event was the incident with the wedding ring. Yes, an incident that did not detract from the brilliance of the celebration. Prince Rainier was so nervous that Grace had to help him put the ring on his finger. In addition, the wedding cake that had six layers and represented the Palace of Monaco and images that stamped the country's history with sugar also attracted a lot of attention.
In a wedding of mere mortals, the bride's outfit is always one of the most anticipated highlights. Imagine then, at a princess wedding. For the civil ceremony, a light pink taffeta dress with champagne-colored lace was chosen, which was composed of two pieces. As for the religious ceremony, Grace wore a wedding dress that would be talked about until the present day and would become one of the most famous of all time.
Fit for a princess, it was a model that took 300 meters of Belgian lace and 150 meters of silk, taffeta and tulle. The creation required 30 seamstresses to complete. The two dresses, both for the civil and religious ceremonies, were handcrafted in MGM's studio ateliers. They were gifts that the heads of the studio offered the star. It is worth remembering that Grace is considered the thirteenth legend of world cinema by the American Film Institute.
