Princess Grace dies from crash injuries The Guardian, Wednesday 15 September 1982 06.32 EDT Princess Grace of Monaco died in hospital last night of injuries suffered in a road accident in the hills near her home on Monday morning. She was 52. She was originally reported as out of danger after receiving a broken thigh bone, collar bone and rib injuries in the accident when her Rovers brakes reportedly failed and the car plunged 120 feet down a hillside. But a palace spokesman said last night that her condition had steadily deteriorated and she had died of a brain haemorrhage at 10.30 pm. Her daughter Princess Stephanie, aged 17, who was also in the car suffered only slight concussion and was released from hospital early yesterday. The exact cause of the crash remained a mystery and British Leyland yesterday sent three of its engineering experts to examine the car. There had been conflicting reports over whether the princess or her daughter Stephanie, who is one year under the legal age to hold a driving licence, had been at the wheel. As Grace Kelly she became a big star in a relatively brief career of 11 Hollywood films. She won an Oscar for her performance in Country Girl, in 1954. Other celebrated roles were in High Society, Dial M For Murder and To Catch A Thief. She met Prince Rainier at the Cannes Film Festival in 1955. Their marriage the following year ended her acting career. Born in Philadelphia the daughter of an Irish immigrant father who started his own building company and became a millionaire, Grace Kelly made her film debut in 1951. In Mondays accident Princess Graces car left a mountain road on a route that she often used and plunged down the hillside. A Frenchman who saw the accident managed to put out the blazing engine and pulled Stephanie Rainier to safety. The Princesss Rover was 10 years old and did not have the dual braking system used on a more modern version. After the Princess was admitted to hospital doctors said she was lucky to be alive. Asked if her husband had been at Graces bedside when she died, a palace spokesman said only that he was at her bedside practically without interruption from the time she was admitted to hospital. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said last night : I am sure the Queen and other members of the Royal Family will be shocked and saddened by the news. In Washington, President Ronald Reagan said he and his wife, Nancy, were shocked and deeply saddened by the news. A White House statement went on: As an American, Princess Grace brought character and elegance to the performing arts and always found time to make important contributions to her craft. In New York, a spokesman for Frank Sinatra - who starred with her in High Society said: Along with the rest of the world we are stunned, shocked and totally grief-stricken at the news. Grace was a gracious, wonderful woman who was a princess from the moment she was born. We still cannot believe it. Our hearts go out to her husband, her children and her family here in the United States.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 01:10:36 +0000
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