Tears in Monaco after passing of Europe's longest-serving monarch By Colin Randall in Monte Carlo Telegraph | 07/04/2005 http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/04/07/wrain07.xml Monaco and its 700-year-old ruling dynasty, the House of Grimaldi, were in mourning yesterday after Prince Rainier lost a two-week battle for life, ending the 55-year reign that made him Europe's longest-serving monarch. His son and heir, Albert, 47, was at his bedside when he died in the Cardio-Thoracic Centre overlooking Monte Carlo harbour at 7.35am GMT. The funeral will take place tomorrow week. The 81-year-old Prince's powers were transferred to his son last week when it became clear that a dramatic health decline would prevent his ever again exercising the functions of state. Albert, who is unmarried and childless, is expected to be installed formally after a period of mourning. He has been groomed for several years, taking on more and more royal duties as his father's health faded, and will rule as Albert II. With his sisters Caroline, 48, and Stephanie, 40, and the Princesses' children, Albert made regular visits to the hospital to be with Rainier in his final days. Caroline is now next in line, followed by her elder son Andrea, 20. A palace statement said Rainier's death was due to the lung, heart and kidney problems that had caused his admission to hospital a month ago. Representatives of other royal families, senior politicians and household names from sport and showbusiness are expected at the funeral, to be held in the same cathedral, St Nicholas, where Rainier married his Hollywood bride, Grace Kelly, and where she was interred after a fatal car crash in 1982. Rainier, who was often said to have failed to come to terms with her death, will be buried with her. The bulk of his fortune, unofficially estimated at up to �1.5 billion, will be divided between Albert and Caroline. Concern about some of the company Stephanie kept led her father to limit her direct inheritance, according to the American biographer J Randy Taraborrelli. On his assessment, she would still be left with a monthly allowance of more than �30,000, properties in France, Switzerland and the US, and the prospect of greater control of her share should she be deemed capable of handling it maturely. The loss of a much-loved monarch, known as the "Builder Prince" in honour of his work to mould the principality into a modern state, hit Mon�gasques hard. Flags flew at half mast, many businesses shut their doors, and in the spring sun the tiny principality heard Radio Monte Carlo play religious music. A notice at the Casino told gamblers that it would be closed all day. Rainier spent his last fortnight on a respirator with frequent dialysis, and some relief was evident yesterday in reaction to his death. "At least he is beyond suffering," said Jean Louis Pasquier, 59, a former motorcycle racing champion who began the day early in his customary brightly-patterned shirt but changed into black on hearing the news. "Suddenly, today, Monaco feels very quiet. Everyone is finding their own way of paying respects. Rainier was a good man, honest and firm and no one had a bad word for him." The prince devoted his reign to diversifying Monaco's economy, ending excessive reliance on gambling and ploughing millions of pounds into development projects. With a territory smaller than New York's Central Park he was forced to be ingenious, turning to the sea when land ran out for reclamation schemes that boosted Monaco's size by a fifth. But he was also seen by his people as a father or grandfather figure. As he lay on his deathbed, subjects spoke with unforced affection. "This country was Prince Rainier's," said Patricia Vermeulen, 53. "He created the fabulous adventure that is Monaco." The Queen sent a message expressing her sadness, and President Chirac led French tributes, praising Rainier's "courage and tenacity" and his attachment to the "common destiny" with France. But relations between the neighbouring states have sometimes been prickly. Some French politicians, especially on the Left, still regard Monaco as a haven for fugitives and tax dodgers, and a series of reports claimed that Rainier had not been entirely successful in ending the principality's association with "dirty money". ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease? 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