On this day in 1956 the fairytale wedding of Prince Rainier III of Monaco and American film actress Grace Kelly, took place. The celebration of the Nuptial Mass was held in the Cathedral of Monaco, following a civil ceremony, held the previous day, in the throne room in the Palace of Monaco. Miss Kelly looked every bit the film star in her ivory gown made of silk taffeta and lace. As instructed by Monsignor Marella, the Papal Legate from Paris, the couple sat, stood and knelt during the ceremony, without looking at each other. They spoke their vows so quietly that it was hard to tell whether they made them in English or French, the national language of Monaco. At the end of the ceremony a message was read out from the Pope. Thousands of well-wishers lined the streets as the couple drove through the streets of Monte Carlo in an open-top car. The couple spent their honeymoon cruising around the Mediterranean aboard Prince Rainier's yacht, Deo Juvante II, out of the public eye for the first time in months. In Monaco, as in France, a civil marriage must take place before a religious ceremony. The previous day's civil marriage had been attended by close family and friends. After her marriage Grace Kelly became Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco. Princess Grace was killed in a car crash on 14 September 1982, after her car went off a road over a cliff in Monaco.
