Grace Kelly, the princess who restored the glamor to Monaco on the back of a Jaguar

• Monarchs Grace Kelly, the princess that Mnaco still loves today, despite Charlene

After six years of courtship, Rainier III of Mnaco broke up in 1953 with the French interpreter Gisle Pascal because neither her family nor the Monegasques wanted her on the throne. To get it out of the way, it was said that the sovereign’s sister, Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massy, ​​was in charge of spreading the rumors of infertility of the lady because she wanted the throne for her son Christian Louis.

Laconic and depressed, the sovereign urges him to the ideal woman. By then, Aristteles Onassis was the largest shareholder of the Socit des Bains de Mer (SBM) – owner of the Casino, the most important luxury hotels and a myriad of properties that generated incalculable dividends – and how it was obsessed with big names (Livanos, Callas …) influenced Rainier III to look for someone solemn among the society pages.

That figure I found Grace Kelly, who I met during the filming of Catch a thief (1955). His love was settled when the prince gave him a gift during the filming of High society (1956) in Hollywood with a Cartier diamond ring of 10.47 carats, which provoked the admiration of his colleague Celeste Holm when he saw the glow of the gem: “Mother, it looks like a skating rink!”.

That was the beginning of a time of fantasy that has remained anchored in the Monegasque collective memory and, by extension, that of the rest of the world.

Grace symbolized elegance, charm and glamor that Mnaco needed to export abroad to become the ideal enclave for the international jet set. After their wedding in 1956, everything seemed to be going smoothly. The prince was happy in his heart and had regained control of the SBM.

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To perpetuate the image of the cinematic myth, the best luxury brands in the world were at his feet. Herms created the Kelly bag and Jaguar made available two of its most exclusive models, the MK2 saloon and the E-Type, considered the most beautiful car ever designed which in 1996 became piece of art by being part of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

In March the 60th anniversary of its launch worldwide with an exclusive edition because Jaguar Classic will release six pairs of E-Type models (9600 HP and 77 RW) of this gem on wheels within the reach of checking accounts with multiple leading zeros. This vehicle was the insignia of the who was who in high society, as Steve McQueen (great motor enthusiast like Paul Newman), Tony Curtis, Brigitte Bardot or the Dukes of Sussex (Meghan and Harry), who at their wedding used an electric Jaguar E-Type Zero Concept inspired by the 1968 gasoline-powered model.

Grace Kelly was a magnet for Monaco. She attracted the big names (Elizabeth Taylor, Mara Callas, the Rothschilds) and generated millionaire profits for a principality that was about to become a French protectorate. Every time she had to attend an event at the Casino or the Sporting Club, the sovereign I used these English vehicles that they have nothing to envy to other British firms such as Rolls-Royce or Bentley.