This week is chock-full of milestone royal anniversaries. While the Brits celebrate the late Queen’s 100th, the Grimaldis in Monaco are marking a special moment of their own—the 70th anniversary of the wedding of Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly—with a special exhibition at the Palais Princier.
The Palais Princier de Monaco announced last week that “The Wedding of the Century,” an exhibition devoted to the iconic 1956 wedding of Rainier and Grace, will open to the public on June 8. The Monaco Tribune explained, “Seventy years on, the exhibition “The Wedding of the Century”, housed in the Grand Apartments of the Prince’s Palace, will look back at the behind-the-scenes stories, the key figures and the highlights of this event, organised in less than four months following the announcement of the engagement in Philadelphia.”
The report added that the “exhibition will feature photographs, moving images, dresses, accessories, gifts and personal documents.” The artifacts will be on display at the palace in Monaco from June until the close of the exhibition on October 15.
To the best of my knowledge, the palace has yet to reveal which specific objects will go on display, but the note that the exhibition will feature dresses, accessories, and gifts is especially exciting, because numerous important pieces from the 1956 wedding survive today. Among these is, of course, the iconic gown that Grace wore for the religious wedding ceremony at Monaco’s cathedral.
The dress was made for her by MGM’s famed chief costume designer, Helen Rose. It took dozens of seamstresses six weeks to construct the peau de soie, taffeta, and lace gown. After the wedding, Grace donated the gown to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It’s still part of the museum’s collection today, along with her headpiece, veil, and shoes, plus the pearl-embellished missal she carried in lieu of a bouquet. Twenty years ago, the museum displayed the gown for a special 50th anniversary exhibition. While preparing the ensemble for that show, curators discovered that a lucky penny had been sewn into her right shoe.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s collection also includes several more pieces that could be theoretically packaged up and shipped to Monaco for the exhibition. These include primrose-yellow hats worn by the matron of honor, Peggy Kelly Davis, and one of the bridesmaids, Maree Frisby Pamp, as well as a flower girl dress worn by Grace’s niece, Meg Davis Packer.
It’s certainly also possible that the incredible diamond engagement ring given by Rainier to Grace could be included in the display, because it was loaned in 2025 to the big Cartier exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. I saw it there and snapped this pictured. It would be lovely if the smaller ruby and diamond ring that he gave her when he first proposed was also shown in the exhibition.
Displayed beside the ring in the Cartier exhibition was one of the new princess’s wedding gifts: a versatile diamond and ruby tiara presented by the Société des Bains de Mer, one of the most important institutions in the principality. The jewel could be worn as a tiara or a necklace, and the individual sections could be removed and worn as brooches. Grace’s daughters have worn parts of the ruby tiara and its coordinating jewels since her passing.
Grace also received stunning presents from Monaco’s National Council, both of which still exist and would be appropriate for inclusion in the new exhibition. After some debate, the council offered the new Princess of Monaco a classic diamond festoon necklace from Cartier and a diamond bracelet set with baguettes and brilliants in a lattice-style pattern from Van Cleef & Arpels. Like the ring and the tiara, these pieces still belong to the family collection, and they have been worn in recent years.
Van Cleef & Arpels also supplied Rainier’s wedding gift to his bride: a suite of jewelry set with diamonds and pearls. The necklace, bracelet, earrings, and rings also belong to the family collection and have been displayed often over the years. They’ve also notably been worn in public by Rainier and Grace’s daughter, Princess Caroline.
I’m very much looking forward to learning more about the pieces that will be showcased in the forthcoming exhibition. What are you hoping will be displayed in the Prince’s Palace to mark the anniversary?
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