Monaco's Prince Rainier, Europe's longest-reigning monarch, dies at age 81

MONACO — Prince Rainier III, whose fairy-tale marriage to Hollywood star Grace Kelly brought elegance and glamour to one of Europe's oldest dynasties, died Wednesday, nearly a month after he was hospitalized with a lung infection. He was 81.

Europe's longest-reigning monarch died at 6:35 a.m. from heart, kidney and lung problems at the hospital overlooking Monaco's glittering, yacht-filled harbor, the palace said. His only son, Prince Albert, was at his side, it said.

The body of Rainier, whose family dynasty took power in 1297, was moved to his hilltop palace where it will in lie in state, the palace said.

The Mediterranean enclave's famed Monte Carlo casino closed its doors Wednesday in a sign of respect.

"Each of us feels like an orphan because the principality has been marked by his imprint over the 56 years" of his reign, said Patrick Leclercq, head of government in the principality of 32,000 people.

Rainier's doctors had called Albert about 30 minutes beforehand to tell him the end was near, the palace said. The palace statement didn't say if Rainier's daughters, Princesses Caroline and Stephanie, were with him when he died.

With Rainier's death, Albert took the title of Prince Albert II.

The only son of Rainier and Princess Grace, Albert becomes Monaco's de facto ruler until a formal investiture expected after a mourning period. He took over the royal powers — but not the throne — last week after a royal commission decided Rainier was too sick to rule.

The unmarried Albert, who has no children, inherits a French-speaking principality smaller than New York's Central Park but renowned for its casinos and the annual Monte Carlo Grand Prix.

Monaco changed its succession law in 2002 to allow power to pass from a reigning prince who has no descendants to his siblings. Albert's sisters have children.

Rainier, who assumed the throne on May 9, 1949, had to endure the tragedy of his wife's death and relentless scandals — including international criticism of the principality's tax laws — that plagued the final two decades of his rule.

The leader of Europe's longest-ruling royal family, the Grimaldis, Rainier suffered recurring health problems in recent years. The silver-haired, portly prince underwent heart surgery in 1999 and had two operations the following year.