MONACO (Reuters) - Monaco's Prince Rainier, whose marriage to U.S. actress Grace Kelly brought Hollywood glamour to his tiny state, has died aged 81.

The palace said Europe's longest-reigning monarch died at 6:35 a.m. (5.35 a.m.) after a month in hospital battling lung, heart and kidney problems.

Some residents of the Mediterranean principality fought back tears as they heard the news, and tributes poured in from foreign leaders for the man who turned Monaco from a faded gambling centre into a billionaires haven.

Rainier put Monaco -- the world's smallest state after the Vatican -- on the international stage with his romance and then marriage with Kelly in 1956.

Princess Grace died in a car crash in 1982 and Rainier, heartbroken, never remarried. He is expected to be buried beside his wife close to the palace after at least a week's mourning.

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I think this was a man who truly was in love with his wife.
Going back to the thread about Camilla looking goofy, I kinda hope Prince Rainier's funeral buggers up the honeymoon, too !!!!!!!!

yeah, sometimes when too many wrenches are thrown to the spokes, one should wonder if it is really meant to be .....

And as you walk you make your path Kat

True love.... my parents had it.  54 years of marriage.  8 children.  23 grandchildren.

Somehow the subject came up recently when I was at my mom's, and I asked she thought that it was "love at first sight" between herself and Dad.  She got this twinkle in her eye and said "I think so."

I want a love like that.  Doesn't necessarily have to be "at first sight."  But love that is enduring, love that makes you smile, love that includes a deep fondness and respect for each other.....  

I miss my dad.  I know you may find this ridiculous that I might compare him to the pope, but as with the pope, I didn't realize how many people my dad affected until he died.  And he had so many friends and coworkers who admired him.  He was a quiet, funny, honest and hardworking.  I think his biggest accomplishment was that he loved one woman well -- my mom (and she didn't make it so easy for him sometimes, either) -- and because of that he left quite a legacy.

Jean

Who, by the way, I think looks highly intelligent and is probably a college professor (at least) and certainly doesn't look 150.......
Yeah, true love. Where you take the ups and the downs but nothing will ever diminish the wholeness of that love, ever.
My Mum and Dad got married in 1936 and stayed together (I kind of feel they still are together) until my Dad died in 1994. They argued like cat and dog sometimes, and she would sulk, and he'd ignore her, BUT, they stayed put. I asked them both at different times if they'd stayed faithful to each other. My Dad said 'I've never had sex with anyone except your Mum since the day we got married - mind you, I've had my chances!' and my Mum said something very similar, only I was asking her after my H had his affair, so she wasn't so jokey about it. When I asked my Dad, way back, I was a happy wife with no insecurities.
An old English Prime Minister, James Callaghan, died a few days ago, and he died 11 days after his beloved wife died. How romantic is that? I'll bet he died of a broken heart, or was waiting for her to go, so she wouldn't suffer the sadness.
True love - like I've never known, and doubt I ever will.

No, Jean, you got it wrong - maybe it's just that I'm not a writer and I confused you. My Dad didn't have an affair, although he said he'd had chances during his life but never took any of them up.
Still think you look like a college professor!!
xxxx

So I may look smart, but sometimes looks don't help me read.   :-b   Now I clearly see <<...only I was asking her after my H had his affair, so she wasn't so jokey about it.>>  (Emphasis mine, of course, to point out that sometimes this English major gets confused by pronouns.)

Jean

(P.S. Edited for the typos....  I think I should just shut up about the English major stuff.  Makes me paranoid when I write.)