Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (He suspended the previous constitution in 1959, saying that it "has hindered the administrative and political life of the country.") The changes ended autocratic rule, placing power with the prince and a National Council of eighteen elected members. At the time of his death, he was the world's second longest-serving living head of state (independent), ranking just below the King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej. After a year-long courtship described as containing "a good deal of rational appraisal on both sides" ("The Times", 7 April 2005, page 59), Prince Rainier married Oscar-winning American actress Grace Kelly (1929–1982) in 1956. The ceremonies
Louis II, Prince of Monaco Dommanget (1900–91), a French film actress and former wife of actor André Brulé. Absent from Monaco during most of the final years of his reign, he and his wife lived at Marchais, the family estate near Paris. Prince Louis II died in 1949 in the Prince's Palace and is buried at the Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Monte Carlo, Monaco. His widow, Ghislaine, Dowager Princess of Monaco, died on 30 April 1991 in Paris, where she was interred in the Passy Cemetery. Hereditary Princess Charlotte ceded her succession rights to her son, Rainier, in 1944, at which time he became Hereditary