It should come as no surprise that HSH Princess Grace of Monaco would have been close friends with the Kennedy family. The Kelly and Kennedy clans both come from similar backgrounds; poor Irish immigrants who managed to make their way to the top of the social-economic ladder in the United States. John F. Kennedy (the world would later learn) suffered from numerous and painful ailments throughout his relatively short life and this was a cause of great concern for those who knew him closely. In 1954 he was hospitalized due to severe back trouble and Princess Grace was so concerned she rushed to see him, but a private, personal meeting would obviously be very difficult. So, believe it or not, Jackie Kennedy arranged for Grace to sneak into the hospital dressed as a nurse in order to visit the future President (this being before his election and before Grace Kelly became Princess of Monaco). Of course, with her established talents as an actress, Grace was able to pull off the ruse flawlessly. Later, after the tragic assassination of JFK, one would have to wonder if a few eyebrows went up in Monaco when Jackie Kennedy married the former arch-enemy of Prince Rainier III; Aristotle Onassis, a match controversial for a great many reasons.
Interesting! Oddly enough, Princess Lilian of Belgium also had a connection to the Kennedys- I believe from her school days in England. Also, later on, Jacqueline took inspiration from Lilian's sense of style.
ReplyDeleteAnd King Baudouin attended JFK's funeral. There were quite a few royal guests at that one, maybe the most ever for the leader of a republic up to that time.
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