The Prince’s Palace of Monaco

The Prince’s Palace in Monaco was a bit overwhelming emotionally (lol) as I have seen so many photos over the years of the wedding of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier. I had no idea we’d have access to the location where they had their wedding photos taken! Swoon. Look at all the lovely details in the ceiling and floor on the balcony (scroll below), and not much has changed since their wedding day in 1956!

It was magical thinking of Grace at the palace and all the history within those rooms. These steps (below) are right below the balcony where the wedding photos were taken! The black-and-white photo of Grace is from the day she first met Rainier when she was visiting the French Riviera for the Cannes Film Festival. It’s a fabulous story involving Olivia de Havilland, whose husband was editor of Paris Match and recommended Grace and Rainier meet for a photo opportunity. The color photo is from after Grace and Rainier were married and has always been one of my favorites.

This (below) is the moment Grace and Rainier met and the space where it happened! It’s really a fun story (more than I can detail here) so I highly recommend reading about it! I believe Grace made a makeshift “hat” out of flowers because she learned at the last minute she needed a head covering of some sort to meet the prince. The room (just inside the balcony) is gorgeous and is where the prince welcomed all of his important visitors.

 

This is the throne room (below), where Grace and Rainier had their civil wedding ceremony! Look at that ceiling … Apparently, in 2014, restoration experts noticed older motifs beneath the layers of crumbling paint, painted directly onto the wall. Prince Albert II ordered closer investigations and other traces of old frescoes were uncovered in other rooms, covering a total of 600 m2. They have been restoring all the old frescoes. It’s an 8-year project and is considered one of the biggest painting restoration and conservation projects ever undertaken in Europe.

 

The palace has a large Mirror Gallery, an imitation of Versailles, which gives access to the state apartments. It is lined with marble busts, including a beautiful one of Grace.

I also thought this space (below) was so charming. Pattern on pattern! It’s the Chambre Valentinois. There’s a photo of Grace in the corner from her first visit. The walls and fabrics are to die for though they have changed since her photo I was taken in the 1950s. The ceiling is just incredible too! The painting to the right of the daybed is attributed to Bartolomeo Schedoni.