What transpired after the wedding was a cause for speculation

Nowadays, the master director would have been roasted at the rhetorical stake for his comment about the optimal composition of his leading actresses: "I need women who look like ladies, real ladies - and who then become hookers in bed," Alfred Hitchcock said in the 50s - years. It is not known whether these not-so-golden words ever reached the ears of his favorite actress, but it is most likely that Grace Kelly (1929-1982) would have walked over them like a lady.

It is even certain that Mr. Hitchcock was unintentionally involved in showing Ms. Kelly the way to Prince Rainier of Monaco's bedroom. The two married on April 18, 1956 in front of the world public in Monaco; The daughter of an American property developer became Princess Gracia Patricia – and none of this would have happened if the prince hadn't noticed the lady from Hollywood in the summer of 1954, who, under Hitchcock's guidance, was filming on the Côte d'Azur "Over the roofs of Nice". The following year he addressed her personally at the Cannes Film Festival.

Rainier's behavior cannot really surprise anyone. At the time, Grace Kelly, like Marilyn Monroe, was blonde to the point of madness, but unlike her competitor, she lacked everything that would have driven a scoundrel like the writer Truman Capote to equate her debauchery with a banana split.

The Kelly reigned as the epitome of nobility at a time when, even in fashion, class had not yet been totally conquered by youth. In addition, her successes as an actress spoke for themselves; She certainly didn't win the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in "The Country Girl" in 1955 for standing around a bit prettily in front of the camera.

Needless to say, what happened or not at court after the wedding was a constant source of speculation, despite the birth of three children - and when they came straight from the realm of obvious mental derangement it only made matters better. It can always be said that Gracia Patricia had announced as Grace Kelly in 1955 that her film career was too important to her to tie the knot in the near future.

In 1966, a "Playboy" interview on the tenth wedding anniversary made sure that the sun on the boulevard of some journalists shone more gloriously than at least since Monroe's binge drinking: "I'm not looking for happiness. So maybe in a way I'm very happy with life," the princess said when asked how she defined happiness. To end by saying, "I'm always at odds with myself, so I guess I'm not at peace with myself."

Gracia Patricia's last years were comparatively quiet. In 1982 she was driving along the cliffs of the Côte d'Azur, the same route as in "Over the Rooftops of Nice", lost control of her car and died. Rumors arose once again, to which the yellow press, on appropriate occasions, addresses them with all the fervor it is capable of. There are also countless posthumous documentaries, feature films and awards. That's not surprising either. Above all, Grace Kelly, alias Gracia Patricia, has always remained one thing: a woman that men and women can still look up to today like no other.

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This article was first published in April 2021.