Monaco mourns Rainier

MONACO — The famed Monte Carlo casino was closed, its spinning roulette wheels at rest as Monaco mourned the death Wednesday of Europe's longest-reigning monarch, Prince Rainier III, who worked to overcome this tiny principality's reputation as "a sunny place for shady people."

The throne now goes to Prince Albert II, Rainier's only son with actress Grace Kelly.

In power for 56 of his 81 years, Rainier was the only ruler many of Monaco's 32,000 residents had ever known. A veritable father figure, he dragged Monaco into the modern age while preserving much of its Mediterranean charm and royal trappings.

Before age slowed him, Rainier poured his energies into public works, earning the name "the builder prince." He put Monaco — which is smaller than New York's Central Park — on the world map with his April 18, 1956, marriage to Kelly, who gave up Hollywood fame to become Princess Grace.

Albert, 47, has been groomed from birth to succeed Rainier. Multilingual, U.S.-educated, and a five-time bobsledding Olympian, he was at his father's bedside when Rainier died at a hospital overlooking Monaco's yacht-filled main harbor.

Rainier had been treated there for the past month for heart, kidney and breathing problems. Albert took over the royal powers last week because of Rainier's ill health.

Rainier's funeral will be held April 15 at the 19th-century Monaco Cathedral where he and Princess Grace wed. He is expected to be buried alongside her.

At the traditional midday changing of the palace guards ceremony Wednesday, drums were covered with black cloth. The body of Rainier, whose family dynasty took power in 1297, was moved to his hilltop palace, where it will lie in state, the palace said.

The Monte Carlo casino closed in a sign of respect. Monaco's soccer team postponed a weekend match.

Flags, already lowered for Pope John Paul II, remained at half-staff. Monaco's TV networks interrupted programming with documentaries on Rainier's life and reactions to his death.

"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 Monaco's government.

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