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31-600: The first Monaco Historic Grand Prix was held in 1997 as part of the year-long celebrations marking the 700th anniversary of the Grimaldi family's presidency over Monaco . It had only been intended as a one-off event but became a huge success, leading to its continuation as a biennial event from 2000 . With the beginning of the Monaco ePrix Formula E race, the Historic Grand Prix continued to be held in even-numbered years and

62-535: A Maserati 250F in Race D. Ludovic crashed in practice for Race B, sustaining minor injuries, but still raced. Hannen took part in Races B and C, taking second place in both. In Race C, he was forced to start from the pit lane after mistakenly believing his steering was damaged on the formation lap. He put on an overtaking masterclass and finished second, having pressured race leaders Frank Sytner and Emanuele Pirro for much of

93-781: A second lieutenant . As soldier, he witnessed action during the German counter-offensive in Alsace . Rainier received the French Croix de Guerre with bronze star (representing a brigade level citation) and was given the rank of Legion of Honor in 1947. Following his decommission from the French Army , he was promoted by the French government as a captain in April 1949 and a colonel in December 1954. Rainier became

124-509: A car crash caused by a cerebral hemorrhage in 1982, making it impossible to expand the film for an American release. After Grace's death, Rainier refused to remarry. He established the Princess Grace Foundation-USA in 1982 in her honor, to support fledging American artists. Rainier smoked sixty cigarettes a day. In the last years of his life his health progressively declined. He underwent surgery in late 1999 and 2000, and

155-502: 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

186-749: 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. In World War II , Rainier joined the Free French Army in September 1944, and served under General Joseph de Goislard de Monsabert as

217-399: The 9th running of the event in 2014 , the number of races had been reduced to 7, and there had been some tweaking of the categories, better to distribute the competition: For the 11th running of the event in 2018 the number of races remained, the division into categories based on the year of manufacturing has been adjusted again. The following classes remained static for the 12th running of

248-424: The Monegasque princes Albert I and Louis II . The prestigious philatelic collectors organization, Club de Monte-Carlo de l'Élite de la Philatélie, was established in 1999 under his direct patronage. The club is headquartered at the postal museum, and its membership restricted to institutions and one hundred prestigious collectors. Rainier organized exhibitions of rare and exceptional postage stamps and letters with

279-632: The Palace announced that Rainier's doctors believed his chances of recovery were "slim". On 6 April, Prince Rainier III died at the Cardiothoracic Centre of Monaco at 6:35 am local time at the age of 81. His son subsequently became the new Prince of Monaco as Albert II. His funeral was held on 15 April 2005 beside his wife, Princess Grace, at the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate , the traditional burial place of princes and princesses of Monaco, and

310-681: The Palace on 18 April, with the religious wedding being held on 19 April at the Saint Nicholas Cathedral . Rainier wore a military dress of his own design, based on the uniforms of Napoleon Bonaparte . Presided over by Bishop Gilles Barthe, the marriage was broadcast by MGM Studios, and viewed by over 30 million people across the globe. The couple honeymooned in the Mediterranean on their yacht, Deo Juvante II . Princess Grace gave birth to their first child, Princess Caroline , on 23 January 1957. Their second child and heir, Prince Albert ,

341-473: The Palace scheduled to support her trip to the Cannes Film Festival . After a year-long courtship described as containing "a good deal of rational appraisal on both sides," Prince Rainier married Kelly in 1956. The union was met with mass attention from the public, and was described as the "wedding of the century" and the "world's most anticipated wedding" by the media. The civil ceremony took place at

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372-576: The Prince and a National Council of eighteen elected members. At the time of his death, he was the world's second longest-serving living head of state , just below the King of Thailand , Bhumibol Adulyadej , and the longest-reigning monarch in Europe. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rainier had a ten-year relationship with the French film actress Gisèle Pascal , whom he had met while a student at Montpellier University, and

403-517: The Sovereign Prince of Monaco upon the death of his maternal grandfather, Prince Louis II, on 9 May 1949, at the age of 25. After ascending the throne, Rainier III worked to recoup Monaco's lustre, which had become tarnished through financial neglect and scandal (his mother, Princess Charlotte, took a noted jewel thief known as René the Cane as her lover). Upon ascension, the Prince found a treasury that

434-535: The club's members. Throughout his reign, Rainier surveyed all the process of creation of Monaco stamps. He preferred stamps printed in intaglio and the art of engravers Henri Cheffer and Czesław Słania . Rainier's car collection was opened to the public as the Monaco Top Cars Collection in Fontvieille. The Prince met Academy Award –winning actress Grace Kelly in 1955, during a photocall at

465-511: The couple lived at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Rainier's sister, Princess Antoinette , wishing her own son to ascend the throne, spread rumors that Pascal was infertile. The rumours combined with a snobbery over Pascal's family origins ultimately ended the relationship. Rainier established a postal museum in 1950: the Museum of Stamps and Coins , in Monaco's Fontvieille district by using the collections of

496-537: The ePrix in odd-numbered years. However the 12th edition was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic , instead taking place on April 25, 2021, two weeks before the Monaco ePrix and four weeks before the Formula One Grand Prix. Subsequently, the circuit hosted an ePrix in 2022. The 2010 running of the event was the seventh in the series. It featured eight races total, in various historic motorcar categories: By

527-475: The event in 2021 . 1997 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco The 1997 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco was the inaugural running of the Historic Grand Prix of Monaco , a motor racing event for heritage Grand Prix , Voiturettes , Formula One , Formula Two and Sports cars . 1997 represented the 700th anniversary of the Grimaldi family's presidency over Monaco . Celebrations were held throughout

558-592: The overweening involvement of the Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis , who took control of the Société des Bains de Mer and envisioned Monaco as solely a gambling resort. Prince Rainier regained control of SBM in 1964, effectively ensuring that his vision of Monaco would be implemented. During his reign, the Societé Monégasque de Banques et de Métaux Précieux , a bank which held a significant amount of Monaco's capital,

589-471: The race. 1968 Monaco Grand Prix runner-up Richard Attwood impressed with his performance in Race D and also set the fastest lap. A third former F1 driver was three-time Monaco Grand Prix winner Stirling Moss . He was entered for Race D but suffered a cylinder head failure and did not start. He gave a strong showing in Race E, running third until a somewhat reluctant Martin Stretton passed him. Phil Hill

620-418: 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 . Rainier 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

651-564: The year and among these was a series of historic motor races at the Circuit de Monaco . It was initially conceived as a one-off, but proved so popular that it was later revived as a biennial event from 2000 . The 1979 Monaco Grand Prix had featured a support race for historic cars, won by Martin Morris in ERA R11B . Additional historic races had been held in support of the 1982 (winner Bruce Halford

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682-479: Was bankrupted by its investments in a media company in 1955, leading to the resignation of Monaco's cabinet. In 1962, Rainier ratified the Principality's new constitution, which significantly reduced the power of the sovereign. He had suspended the previous constitution in 1959, saying that it "has hindered the administrative and political life of the country". The changes ended autocratic rule, placing power with both

713-475: 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 , who was half- French and half- Mexican , adopted his wife's dynasty, Grimaldi, upon marriage and

744-553: Was born on 14 March 1958. Their youngest, Princess Stéphanie , was born 1 February 1965, with all children having been delivered at the Palace. In 1979, the Prince made his acting debut alongside the Princess in a half-hour independent film, Rearranged , produced in Monaco. After its premiere in Monaco, Princess Grace showed it to ABC TV executives in New York in 1982, who expressed interest if extra scenes were shot. However, Grace died in

775-570: Was continuing to deteriorate; however, on 27 March, he was reported to be conscious, his heart and kidney conditions having stabilized. His prognosis remained "very reserved". On 31 March 2005, following consultation with the Crown Council of Monaco , the Palais Princier announced that Hereditary Prince Albert would take over the duties of his father as regent since Rainier was no longer able to exercise his princely functions. On 1 April 2005,

806-401: Was fine, though he was suffering from bronchitis . On 7 March 2005, he was again hospitalized for a lung infection. On 22 March, he was then moved to the hospital's intensive care unit. The following day, it was announced he was on a ventilator , suffering from renal and heart failure. On 26 March, the palace reported that despite intensive ongoing efforts to improve the prince's health, he

837-532: Was hospitalized in November 2002 for a chest infection. He spent three weeks in hospital in January 2004 for what was described as general fatigue. In February 2004, he was hospitalized with a coronary lesion and a damaged blood vessel. In October of that year, he was again in hospital with a lung infection. His son, Hereditary Prince Albert, later appeared on CNN 's Larry King Live and told Larry King that his father

868-471: Was in attendance at this event) and 1983 events under the suggestion of the Hon. Patrick Lindsay. His son Valentine, along with Peter Hannen and Max Poggi, were responsible for organising the 1997 event to tie in with the 700th anniversary. Valentine's two brothers would race in the event itself: James drove an Alfa Romeo 8C Monza in Race A (crashing out in practice), while Ludovic drove a Ferrari 375 in Race B and

899-725: 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

930-436: Was practically empty. Monaco's traditional gambling clientele, largely European aristocrats, found themselves with reduced funds after World War II. Other successful gambling centres had opened to compete with Monaco. To compensate for the loss of income, Rainier decided to promote Monaco as a tax haven , commercial centre, real-estate development opportunity, and international tourist attraction. The early years of his reign saw

961-481: Was slated to appear in a Ferrari Testa Rossa but did not feature in the event. During the weekend, Prince Rainier unveiled a statue of Louis Chiron at the Piscine which still stands today. Pole position Fastest lap Rainier III, Prince of Monaco 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

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