--- title: Grace Kelly, Prince Rainier: Photos From the 'Wedding of the Century' description: Photos of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III, from the announcement of their engagement until their 'wedding of the century' in Monaco. canonical: https://time.com/3684060/life-with-grace-kelly-and-prince-rainier-photos-from-the-wedding-of-the-century/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2013-04-17T14:43:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:06:01.025Z og:title: Grace Kelly, Prince Rainier: Photos From the 'Wedding of the Century' og:description: Photos of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III, from the announcement of their engagement until their 'wedding of the century' in Monaco. og:url: https://time.com/3684060/life-with-grace-kelly-and-prince-rainier-photos-from-the-wedding-of-the-century/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c8c7deb7634e798/69877c188e0601f7c3459f5b/150127-grace-kelly-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Grace Kelly Wedding 1956 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Grace Kelly, Prince Rainier: Photos From the 'Wedding of the Century' twitter:description: Photos of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III, from the announcement of their engagement until their 'wedding of the century' in Monaco. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c8c7deb7634e798/69877c188e0601f7c3459f5b/150127-grace-kelly-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # LIFE With Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier: Photos From the 'Wedding of the Century' > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=2f09422c-db5e-4d3e-b3cd-2ad7725c1957&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Apr 17, 2013 2:43 PM UTC  Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier wed, St. Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco, April 19, 1956. Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier wed, St. Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco, April 19, 1956. Thomas D. McAvoy—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Apr 17, 2013 2:43 PM UTC Before William and Kate, before Charles and Di, before Liz and Dick (I and II), before any of the “storybook” weddings of the past several decades, there was _the_ fairytale wedding of the last century: the April 1956 nuptials of [Grace Kelly](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000038/) and Prince Rainier III of Monaco. The tale of the American movie star and Philadelphia native marrying the prince of a small, sensationally wealthy city-state was simply too perfect to ignore — and for months leading up to the event, from the time of the couple’s engagement until the two ceremonies (civil and religious) that formalized their union, the Hollywood princess and the real-life prince were hardly ever out of the news. Here, LIFE.com presents photos — many of which never ran in LIFE magazine — from the moment the couple announced their engagement in January 1956 until they were married three and a half months later in [Monaco](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaco). In an issue published a few weeks after the wedding, LIFE framed the singular phenomenon for the magazine’s millions of readers: --- > “” --- After their wedding, Monaco’s newlyweds wasted no time starting a family: Nine months and four days later, Grace gave birth to Princess Caroline, their first of three children. The couple was married for 26 years, until [the princess’ death](http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-10-23/features/8901240679%5F1%5Fchauffeur-prince-rainier-monaco) in 1982 from injuries sustained in a car accident. The prince, who never remarried and who died in 2005, is buried beside his wife in the Grimaldi family vault, inside the Monaco cathedral where they wed. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at_ [_@LizabethRonk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier wed, St. Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco, April 19, 1956. Thomas D. McAvoy—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier show her engagement ring to her mother and father at the Kelly home in Philadelphia, 1956. Howard Sochurek—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Monaco's Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly at time of the announcement of their engagement, January 1956. Howard Sochurek—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier arrive at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, the day after announcing their engagement, January 1956. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, the day after announcing their engagement, January 1956. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier dance not long after announcing their engagement, 1956. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Smiling in a brisk March wind and surrounded by photographers and fans, Grace Kelly poses just off of Fifth Avenue in New York, 1956. Lisa Larsen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly takes a momentary breather while packing her things before the wedding, 1956. Lisa Larsen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. While her mother, sister and aides stood by to offer advice, Grace swept from one expensive store to another, following a planned timetable with clocklike precision. Here: Kelly inside a New York jewelry store, where she perused possible gifts for her groom. Lisa Larsen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly packing for her trip to Monaco, March 1956. Lisa Larsen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly, March 1956. Lisa Larsen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly and her poodle, Oliver, 1956. Lisa Larsen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly with her mother, Margaret Majer Kelly, before leaving New York for Monaco in March 1956. Lisa Larsen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly (left) and one of her two sisters (either Peggy or Lizanne), New York City, 1956. Lisa Larsen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Seamstresses work on Grace Kelly's wedding dress and veil, conceived by MGM's wardrobe designer, Helen Rose, Hollywood, Calif., 1956. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A woman puts the finishing touches on the pearl-studded prayer book for Grace Kelly's wedding, Hollywood, Calif., 1956. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly leaves a Hollywood studio lot for the last time before her marriage, 1956\. Meanwhile, MGM, the studio behind her final movie,"High Society," presented her with a dozen costumes she wore in the film. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  On April 4, 1956, Grace Kelly -- her bridesmaids, her relatives, her dog, and about 80 pieces of luggage in tow -- left New York for Monaco aboard the liner, SS Constitution. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly aboard the liner, SS Constitution, on which she traveled to Monaco for her wedding, April 1956. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly in Monaco, April 1956. Frank Scherschel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly in Monaco before her wedding, April 1956. Thomas D. McAvoy—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier in Monaco, the day before their wedding, April 1956. Thomas D. McAvoy—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly ascend the steps of Monaco Palace. Kelly's dress required 25 yards of silk taffeta, 100 yards of silk net, 125-year-old rose-point lace bought from a museum, and thousands of tiny pearls. Frank Scherschel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier kneel during Mass at their religious wedding, April 1956\. That night, the new couple began their honeymoon, a seven-week cruise of the Mediterranean on Rainier's yacht, Deo Juvante II. Thomas D. McAvoy—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly prays before her wedding to Prince Rainier III, April 1956\. (England's Queen Elizabeth II reportedly refused to attend the wedding because there were "too many movie stars.") Thomas D. McAvoy—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier join hands as the Bishop of Monaco, Mgr. Gilles Barthe, administers the nuptial benediction at Saint Nicholas Cathedral, April 1956. Thomas D. McAvoy—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Wedding ceremony of Prince Rainier III of Monaco to Grace Kelly, April 1956. Thomas D. McAvoy—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Princess Grace and Prince Rainier III, newlyweds, April 1956. Frank Scherschel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Princess Grace and Prince Rainier III, newlyweds, are whisked away in a Rolls Royce convertible, April 1956. Frank Scherschel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Prince Rainier III and Her Serene Highness, Princess Gracia Patricia of Monaco, April 19, 1956. Frank Scherschel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Fireworks light up the sky above Monaco in celebration of the wedding of Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly, April 1956. Frank Scherschel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco, April 1956. 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