What was it like to be best friends with a Princess
who became an iconic legend as movie star Grace Kelly
My Days with Princess Grace of Monaco
On 3 best-seller lists on Amazon!
Table of Contents:
PART ONE: THE EARLY DAYS (April 1957 - September 1960)
Days of Acquaintance
Meeting at the Palace one year after the wedding of the century; Rainier and Grace's first helicopter ride and thrilling attacks aboard USS FORRESTAL; having the Prince and Princess over to lunch when everything went wrong; daily life of a Princess; the sisterhood of shared pregnancies; challenges of being guests at the table of honor for the exquisite Bal de la Rose; baptisms of Princess Caroline and Prince Albert; private picnic for Rainier's birthday at Rocagel (before their dream home was constructed) - featuring Grace's favorites: champagne with peanut butter!
Days of Friendship
Entertaining the Prince and Princess in Paris; Balenciaga and baby food at their Paris apartment; a delightful evening no one could remember; playtime at Rocagel; official visit to Paris when Charles de Gaulle pledges friendship of France; Maxim's and the Maharani of Baroda's jewels; a Sunday drive to Versailles with the Princely Family; a diplomatic transfer
Days of Decisions
Diplomacy in Diplomatic Service; a Princely offer we could not refuse; Grace, sympathy and empathy; French protests of an American in Monaco; resigned to resignation; the promise of a new and dazzling life
Photos of the Early Days – pages 54-58
PART TWO: THE MONACO DAYS (1960-1964)
Days of Joy
General de Gaulle shuns the American; French campaign against Prince Rainier; the allure of Monaco and economic explosion; bedrooms or battlefields; dinner and a movie at the Palace; Hollywood royalty; Onassis and his mega yacht, CHRISTINA; black tie bowling; pot luck with the Prince and Princess; camaraderie and competition; a vacation fit for a Prince; making the news in Newsweek; a businessman's paradise; present plans for future growth; Grace, "The Artichoke", and Marilyn Monroe; taking a gamble on Prince Dale; Grace and JFK; indiscreet in the private apartments; the Prince's menagerie; gifts of Grace; day-to-day with Grace and Rainier; rumors and innuendoes; royal retreat at Rocagel; the un-pampered princess; Graceful ballet, and enlightening golf?; Grace reviews "The Country Girl"
Days of Crisis (1962)
Horrible horoscope; "The Royal Twist"; French ultimatums; the source of the crisis; pure propaganda; daring to defy De Gaulle; the American scapegoat; cradle to grave; the threat of "Americanization"; not good neighbors by force; the power behind the throne; tempest over taxes; Grace takes Hitchcock's lead; the French demand Martin's head; royal ruse of banishment; undermining sovereignty; divine right of kings; "Marnie" steals Grace's chance of ever returning to Hollywood; Lady-in-waiting, turning down the role of a lifetime; threat of losing crown and country; tax-free for centuries; lights out for Monte-Carlo; royal support and spiritual abandonment; Grace's other car accident (20 years before); the blockade of Monaco; a final act of betrayal; constitutional monarchy
Days of Distress
War with Onassis; Grace's virtues - hope, faith, and charity; breathtaking Marlene Dietrich; a Princely family vacation in Switzerland; love, loss and shared miscarriages; at home with the Kelly clan in Philadelphia; occupation and pre-occupation with gossip; treaties with France; anti-rich anti-Americans; Gala of the Red Cross; Maharani of Baroda and the crown jewels of India; Grace's love of Ireland; fear of fanatics; the shocking death of JFK; relief and renewal
PART THREE: THE CORRESPONDING DAYS (1965-1982)
Days of Paradise
How leaving Monaco almost killed us; the birth of Princess Stephanie; wistful words from Prince Rainier; welcomed back to Monaco; guests at Rocagel; basking in Grace's light; better in the Bahamas?; Grace under pressure; gifts of surprise and delight; presented to Queen Elizabeth as the Consul of Monaco to the Bahamas; Monte-Carlo's centennial; juggling duties of wife, mother and Princess; always room for one more!; doom, destruction and death threat; beating Onassis at his own game; so near and yet so far; unbearable loss at Expo 67; godmother to our Pamela-Grace; Prince Rainier visits in Bahamian time
Days of Grace
Grace, Stephanie, and Pamela-Grace in New York; Gracing 5th Avenue; royal treatment in Monaco; the new wing at the Palace; "the great link of affection"; family comes first; Grace's many facets; Grace Kelly on a Madison Avenue bus; for the love of the children; the Princess and the Popes; Pamela-Grace at the Palace; at home with Grace in Paris; sharing woes and concerns; loneliness and separation; a sad loss for everyone; the art of Grace Patricia Kelly (GPK); finding her voice and expressing her talents; Princess Caroline's wedding; days with her godmother at Rocagel for Pamela-Grace's birthday; musical evenings in Monaco; Caroline talks of leaving Junot; time and tranquility
PART FOUR: THE LAST DAYS (August 2 - 19, 1982)
The journey of a lifetime: a 17-day cruise to the Arctic with Grace, Rainier, Albert and Caroline. A day-by-day diary of the Princely family's last vacation together, filled with joy and laughter, the month before Grace's tragic death.
Photos of the Last Days – pages 319-326
EPILOGUE: THE DAYS AFTER
Excerpt from letter to Joan from Prince Rainier, October 2nd, 1982:
"...Grace was such a beautiful person and such a wonderful human being, full of love and kindness, that maybe she was not really made for this world of violence and misery. And so God took her in his Kingdom. We have lost so much with Grace's departure from this world, the void left is terrible. Yet her presence is everywhere, where we look, what we touch, what we talk about. The children are wonderful and such comfort, we are very closely united in our sorrow and the wonderful memory of our darling Grace. Grace was very fond of you, and I know she was happy that you shared our holiday cruise this summer..."