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Monaco

Royal photographer calls Princess Grace the “most difficult royal” whom he worked with

A royal photographer, who spent years photographing the British Royal Family, has dubbed Princess Grace of Monaco (the former Grace Kelly) as the “most difficult royal” with whom he ever worked.

Reginald Davis has taken images of The Queen, Prince Charles and the Shah and Empress Farah of Iran. His photos are due to be featured in a new book called My Life Photographing Royalty and the Famous.

The former American actress was said to be “haughty, arrogant and distant beyond belief.”

Davis added, “She certainly wasn’t the sort of person you’d dare remind that her grandad was an Irish bricklayer, not for all the chips in the Monte Carlo casino.”

He asked Her Serene Highness for permission about taking her picture, she responded, “You can have a private audience with me only if you have had a private photographic audience with the Queen of England.”

The photo session did go ahead, but he explained that her attitude stayed the same. When requesting to photograph the Princess playing the piano, she claimed she could not play the instrument and sulked about; however, she relented and went on to play the piano “like a concert pianist.”

He added that you would never know about her arrogance and awkwardness from her pictures, “Of course, you’d never know that from looking at her face” he said. “[In the photo] she seems every inch the relaxed, happy mother.”

Grace Patricia Kelly was born on 12 November 1929 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was well-known as an Academy Award winning actress, starring in films like Dial M for Murder, To Catch a Thief and High Society. She became the Princess of Monaco 18 April 1956 when she wed Rainier III, Prince of Monaco in what was called “the wedding of the century.”

Together, they had three children: Princess Caroline, Prince Albert (now Prince of Monaco) and Princess Stéphanie.

Grace and her youngest daughter Stéphanie were on their way back to Monaco from their home in France on 13 September 1982, when Grace suffered a stroke. The stroke caused the car to go over a cliff. Both were taken to Monaco Hospital with severe injuries. Grace’s injuries were so severe that she was put on life support. She died on 14 September at 10:55 pm.

About author

Brittani is from Tennessee, USA. She is a political scientist and historian after graduating with a degree in the topics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in December 2014. She also holds a master's degree from Northeastern University. She enjoys reading and researching all things regarding the royals of the world. She's been researching, reading, and writing on royalty for over a decade. She became Europe Editor in October 2016, and then Deputy Editor in January 2019, and has been featured on several podcasts, radio shows, news broadcasts and websites including Global News Canada, ABC News Australia, WION India and BBC World News.

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