Funeral of Prince Rainier: April 15, 2005

[Tosca]

Thanks for the great stuff, Michelle!

LadyMac, I love your postings. I'd like to contact you to ask you a couple of questions. No member of the Monaco 's family involved.
Will you, please email me? Thanks!

 

[LadyMacAlpine]

Thanks for the great stuff, Michelle!

LadyMac, I love your postings. I'd like to contact you to ask you a couple of questions. No member of the Monaco 's family involved.
Will you, please email me? Thanks!

You aren't excepting emails.

 

[simon]

La douleur des adieux

Albert will make of Monaco the capital of worlds sport, charity and ecology.

Caroline and Stephanie - Monaco can rely on two First Ladys.

Stephanie - Monaco's minister for social affaires

Caroline - Monaco's minister for cultural affaires

Caroline takes care of the Grimaldi clan. She reunited the whole family around her - for lunch and dinner at the Palais Princier - where Andrea, Charlotte, Pierre, Ernstie and Christian took care of and looked after Louis, Pauline, Camille and Alexandra.
The two sisters - distant some time before - share intimete moments.

Stephanie and her aunt 'Tini' Antoinette felt the need to eclipse themselves from the family circle frm time to time - to walk side by side, in silence and remeber.

Bernard Montiel: " In August, at the Red-Cross-Gala, Stephanie watched her father with love and admiration - extrordinary. I couldn't keep myself from saying: ' Hey, Steph....what a complicity between you and your daddy!' - With this 'little-girl-expression' in her eyes she answered: ' Mais oui, c'est mon papounet' ( Yes, he's my papounet)."

Albert and Caroline will take care of Stephanie. They would never let her down - like she would never let them down.
People will surely be surprised by Stephanie's positive role in Monaco, the positive role she'll assume in the future.


Pictures:

1. Moment of seperation - Prince Albert and his sisters accompany their father in their prayers.
2. Andrea, Charlotte, Pierre, Ernstie and Christian pray and send their deepest thought to Louis, Pauline, Camille and Alexandra, considered to be too young for such a painful public funeral. ( confirmed Ernstie later)
3.Princess Stephanie's eyes filled with sadness
4.Stephanie looks tenderly at her sister, whom she knows in double pain with the sickness of her hsuband
5.Ernstie silently follows his step-mom
6.Prince Albert suronded by two of his five nephews
7.Andrea and Pierre behind their uncle Albert, now head of the family
8. Prince Albert and his younger sister holding hands in these so difficult moments
9. Princess Caroline talking silently to her sister on their way out of the cathedral
10. Caroline,Ernstie,Albert, Charlotte, Mélanie, Sebatian, Andrea, Stephanie, Pierre, Elisbeth-Anne (invisible because behind Pierre) and Jean-Léonard - ( Christian accompanied Antoinette and was therefore already in the cathedral )

Thank you for making this tribute with so much dignity.
In the 3rd photo you can see Stephanies' blue eyes. Her eyes are so incredebly blue .

 

[Bubbette]

I think I"ll believe it when I see it. Caroline is the one who seems to do all the work.

 

[simon]

I think I"ll believe it when I see it. Caroline is the one who seems to do all the work.

All of the family do hard work for our country and for their family life.

 

[michelle]

All of the family do hard work for our country and for their family life.

Yap, I agree ....

 

[budge9]

Does anybody know who was with Prince Rainier when he died? I heard that Albert was called in the early hours but did he make it in time? Also I read somewhere that Stephanie had been sleeping by her fathers bedside in the last few days of his life so does anybody know if she was there at the end? I guess that Caroline was problably with Prince Ernst August as he had just been taken into hospital? Thanks!

 

[simon]

Does anybody know who was with Prince Rainier when he died? I heard that Albert was called in the early hours but did he make it in time? Also I read somewhere that Stephanie had been sleeping by her fathers bedside in the last few days of his life so does anybody know if she was there at the end? I guess that Caroline was problably with Prince Ernst August as he had just been taken into hospital? Thanks!

Well, as this is a very private matter nobody ill ever know for sure. Yes, Albert was called - and I think they said he made it in time.
Stephanie was said to have been there all night - and it is very likely that she was - not sure though .

 

[budge9]

I just found a site in memory of Prince Rainier and thought I would share it with you.
http://rainier-de-grimaldi-de-monaco.memory-of.com/about.aspx

 

[Ianna]

Thank you, budge..

 

[tbhrc]

Abaca

Some touching pics....

 

[RADKER18]

Stephanie looks devastated so does Caroline but looking at the pics of Stephanie is so sad makes you want to cry I hope Caroline and Albert gave her a lot of love . just thought Stephanie did not go to her Mothers funeral she may have been thinking back to her mother .

 

[michelle]

Just wanted to add these photos ....

Prince Christian walks to the Cathedral ... Monaco, April 15th 05 ...

Caroline, Stephanie, Andrea, Charlotte, Pierre and Ernst Jr. arrived together ...

Lighting the candles

Andrea, Charlotte, Pierre and cousins

Pierre and Stephanie

(BdP, Sipa)

 

[sebastian]

Ernst jr. and Christian

(TF1)

 

[michelle]

Looking at the boys almost makes me cry ...

 

[Saturn]

..from the Spanish newspaper ABC...

MIEMBROS DE LA REALEZA:
Rey Alberto II de Bélgica
Rey Carlos Gustavo XVI de Suecia
Reina Sonia de Noruega
Rey Constantino de Grecia
Príncipe Hitachi, representante del emperador de Japón
Príncipe Faisal Bin Al Hussein, representante del Rey de Jordania
Jeque Abdulá Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, de Bahrein
Princesa Ferial, representante de su hermano el rey Fuad II de Egipto
Ex emperatriz de Irán Farah Pahlavi
Príncipe Joaquín de Dinamarca
Príncipe Alejandro II de Yugoslavia y de Serbia
Príncipe Alois de Liechtenstein
Duque de York, Andrés, representante de la reina de Inglaterra
Duque Frantz de Baviera (Alemania)
Duque Eberhard de Wurtemberg (Alemania)
Duque Enrique de Luxemburgo
Duque Duarte de Braganza (Portugal)
Duque Víctor Emmanuel de Saboya, príncipe de Nápoles
Carlos de Borbón de Dos Sicilias, Duque de Calabria
Kardam de Bulgaria, representante del rey Simeón II
Conde Enrique de París
PRESIDENTES:

I don't understand why the spanish press always translates the names of the royals into spanish.
The name is something personal and nobody has the right to translate it into another language.

 

[michelle]

Looking at the boys almost makes me cry ...

Ok great, I quote my own post ... but I have to come back to these pictures of Ernst jr. and Chris. I almost can't get over the look in Christian's eyes.... I was thinking back to the funeral and remember ( and Seb told me the same...as he was there he knows it exactly) the moment they all left the cathedral and took a last bow in front of Rainiers coffin... Caro left with Steph at her side, Andrea with Charlotte, Pierre with Ernst jr. ... and Christian was waiting for Antoinette and together with mélanie he was holding her arm as they walked out ... just as before the ceremony he was already there with her ( Antoinette) while the rest of the family followed the coffin ( that's why you can see a photo of Chris walking to the cathedral alone in another post above) ... this gesture he made there is incredibly sweet I think ... it's such a nice thing to have a family member do this indtead of some carabinier or Valet du Palais .... anyway it must have been endlesly painful for Chris and Ernsti to lithese moments even more so as their Dad couldn't be there and was seriously ill...

 

[Ianna]

I think all the boys are real gentlemens! It's no doubt that Princess Antoinette appreciate that very much!

 

[paca]

there will be a memorial service on April 6th 18.30h in the cathedral with the family attending. though apart from maybe a few flowers laid down at the graves it will be a pretty regular memorial service.

 

[pinklady1991]

there will be a memorial service on April 6th 18.30h in the cathedral with the family attending. though apart from maybe a few flowers laid down at the graves it will be a pretty regular memorial service.

Thanks for that info...reminder to add someone else to the prayer chain that day.

 

[iceflower]

Thanks for telling us, paca!

 

[crisiñaki]

How was the relationship between Rainier and Ernst jr and Christian?
Did he consider them grandkids?
I'm asking because I know that Ernst Jr, Christian, Andrea, Pierre, Charlotte and Alexandra consider themselves as siblings and I also wonder of their relationship with Albert and Stephanie.

Thanks in advance

 

[sebastian]

How was the relationship between Rainier and Ernst jr and Christian?
Did he consider them grandkids?
I'm asking because I know that Ernst Jr, Christian, Andrea, Pierre, Charlotte and Alexandra consider themselves as siblings and I also wonder of their relationship with Albert and Stephanie.

Thanks in advance

Ernsti and Christian have a great relationship with Stephanie and Albert - and they also had a very nice one with Rainier as far as I know.

 

[tbhrc]

Some screencaps from RTL

 

[Casey321]

I feel so sorry for Steph in that video of the funeral, the way she kept looking to Caroline - like a little girl looking to her big sister.

 

[Grace]

When I first saw the Funeral on tv, and now watching these screencaps, I get the feeling that Al and Steph were really worried about Caro that day, maybe cause they knew Ernst was very sick and they feared she might break down. The looks they often gave her seemed looks of protection, as of checking how she was. I might be wrong of course, but that was my impression.

 

[Casey321]

Oh yeah, I forgot that Ernst was ill at the time. I see what you mean Grace.

 

[michelle]

When I first saw the Funeral on tv, and now watching these screencaps, I get the feeling that Al and Steph were really worried about Caro that day, maybe cause they knew Ernst was very sick and they feared she might break down. The looks they often gave her seemed looks of protection, as of checking how she was. I might be wrong of course, but that was my impression.

I agree with you Grace ... I had the same impression. They pretty much tried to comfort each other a lot. There'sone thing my bros talked about: Although Caro was very weak and in fear because of Ernst's condition she found the strength to comfort Steph..at one moment after the service she carressed Steph's arm and face and Steph took Caro's hand...

 

[Grace]

Yes, I agree Michelle, it surely went both ways, and I do remember Caro conforting Steph. They were probably both worried for each other...

 

[tbhrc]

You're right, it must have been a very hard day for Caroline. Just imagine your husband is in coma and you have to go to the funeral of your beloved father, and that in front of the eyes of the whole world...