More on Monaco—and its Saving Grace

June 20: We'll pick up where I left off, as we left the casino and headed for the Oceanographic Museum and Prince's Palace. Fortunately, there was a tunnel with lifts as needed, so we could keep our cool somewhat. But we finally had to re-emerge to the hot open streets to get to the Prince's Palace, and...oh, steps! Lots of them. I didn't even bother to take photos, because steps are so old hat by now.

First stop was the Oceanographic Museum, which was established by Prince Albert I in 1910. Of course, it might be better known to everyone as Jacques Cousteau's Aquarium, and to underscore that, the famous yellow submarine sits proudly in front of the entrance:

I'm not sure if this is more famous than the Beatles' yellow submarine, but at least it's absolutely real.

The aquarium was extensive, and quite interesting. As I have no desire to do any deep sea diving, I am grateful to have the opportunity to get up close and personal with some really interesting critters.

This little guy was so tiny, but he was just fascinating:

The hypnotic effects of the jellies:

The museum isn't just an aquarium. It has a number of exhibitions as well. This is part of the Monaco and the Ocean exhibit. Love that stylized ship Sadly, we once again ran out of time, as we wanted to be sure too get to the Prince's Palace before it closed.

But as we left the museum, I caught a glimpse of a strange being at the entrance to the Polar Mission exhibit:

I'm not sure what it was, but keep an eye out for it if you're at one of the Poles.

Onward, back up the hill to the Prince's Palace--the place most Americans want to see because it's where our very own real live princess lived. Of course I'm speaking of Grace Kelly, who actually had a big role in saving this little monarchy at one time. I don't think I'm alone in loving the storybook romance of Prince Rainier sweeping Grace Kelly off her feet and taking her away to his enchanted kingdom. But it's a bit more complicated than that (and many of you probably already know the back story, but Cindy and I did not).

The following account was triggered when Cindy did some browsing after we saw a particular photo at the Palace, of Rainier and Grace at their civil wedding, which took place before the big blowout royal wedding. She didn't really look happy; in fact, she looked more than a bit apprehensive, and we wondered why that was. So Cindy dug.

This is not the photo I saw in the Palace display, but I think perhaps it was taken just moments later. Her face is more composed here, but she still doesn't quite seem the picture of bridal radiance.

Simply put, it seems that back when Monaco received its independence from France, that independence was incumbent upon the current prince producing a male heir. Without that male heir, Monaco would revert back to being just a part of France. At the time, Prince Rainlier was single and Monaco wasn't the high-rolling place it is today. According to the long account we read (https://www.thelist.com/904866/what-the-world-never-knew-about-grace-kellys-marriage-to-prince-rainier-iii/), his advisors suggested that he might solve both problems by marrying a Hollywood celebrity. Through a series of somewhat chance-but-arranged occurrences, Rainier and Grace met. They corresponded for a few months (letters--remember letters?--were used extensively in those days), until Rainier came to visit Grace in the States, at her parents' home. Despite the fact that Grace was supposedly at the time engaged to Oleg Cassini (another sort of royal pairing), her parents expressed their preference for the prince. This, in spite of the fact that Grace had to come up with a $2M dowry. That's one way to gel Monaco find firmer financial footing...

Anyway, it seems that the couple ultimately ended up in love with each other, and like many marriages it survived the highs and lows. And yes, it probably has been the cause of millions of American tourist dollars coming in, from what we could see. Princess Grace is everywhere and ever present, so it's clear Monaco still knows what a draw she continues to be. AND they did change the rules for Monaco so that it will no longer be dependent on the production of male heirs through the centuries to come.

And the Palace was as impressive as a palace should be. We enjoyed our visit there, as well as the opportunity to learn a bit more about our American princess. (We of course assume every word of the article cited here is true... 😇)

Some pics of the Palace: