Page
Rene Lecler
tells
of a Prince in
a world where
Princes
are
dying who
has
armed
his Princedom
with the tinsel
of
a
time
that is not his
become Princely Tycoon
THE; CHINA - MAIL; WEDNESDAY, MARCH · 10,:: 1957. *|*
U
The Prince of Monte Carlo
LOUDS were gathering over the beautiful, sunlit little state by the shores of
the Mediterranean.
CLO
Rainier's sister Antoinette, lovely and not a little wilful, was flouting the more conservative Monegasques by going about with a dashing professional tennis player named Aleco Noghes.
und gold Throne Room.
h
a
■ bathroom.
and
The Prince
were
Not long after his coming to the Throne, Rainler made the first important concession to the gay and easy life of the Riviera:
he
am nobody," his friend replied. Rainier was furious,
Gifties. Rainier felt his lone- automobile rally
society, Instituted a literary —with glamour, And, what was perhaps even more important, mess very acutely at first. He flummoxed to read that a com-
prize, ordered a special medal "It is because I am the Prince to be struck to reward services takings at the Monte Carlo Casino had been going agreed to see foreign envoys and petitor named Louis de Carlades
dignitaries in the beautiful red had very nearly lost his life of Monaco that I order you to rendered in the field of educa- Other somewhere in Northern France leave me alone ..." he stormed. tion and co-operated with the publicity, and into a steep decline for several months. For the
wise, he anno
announced, he would when his co-driver went to "If you as much as hinder me United Nations
tions in making
Monte first time since the French Revolution, Mone- lead his own life in his private sleep at the wheel and their
T'u
Carlo an important conference I'll exile you." * Telling a Monegasque that be
Stamps be centro.
him occupied ostentatious gasques were seriously worried about the future apartments, a lounge with fitted car wrapped itself around
Krey carpets, low modern tree,
Count Louls de Carlndes may no longer live in Monte quite a lot. New ones had to be furniture, of their country.
Television set was, of course, their good and Carlo is to sentence him to a printed and once, inspecting expensive record-player,
# wise Prince.
slow and painful death, so his thousands of stamps bearing his small dining-room with a table
friend obeyed. Rainier speared effigy being rolled oft the wealth- -and
the sea-cow very expertly and presses, he remariced "It Al- enough to At four o'clock in the afternoon on March 9, 1949, just large
seat six Wag bedroom which
returned home functional in
bubbling with ways seems strange to me that Prince Louis I died.
the extreme and
pleasure as his boat towed the people should want to buy my That was Chough
huge mammal into the harbour, fact, If I were a Alm star for him,
Rainier loves musle and own they might have value for their It was an almost money. his own battery of jazz drums prophetic statement
the by which he plays with a curious, future husband of Grace Kelly. lonely concentration. Strangely
Ceremonial duties begin enough, he also loves classical auspiciously for him by being music and especially opera and almost
alnce non-existent ballet. He was delighted to dis- Monaco obsserved a six-menin cover that cic prerogatives was that he had the Louis. But in the
of his princely period of mourning for Prince morning of to order the complete November 18, 1949, hla per
Monte Carlo
saml standard was run up, for Mary Tower of the Palace. Tho the first time, on the wall Saint Prince, dressed in his handsome light blue uniform with the red and goid epaulettes attended a solemn service of delication Monaco's Cathedral. Later, the authorities of the State made their obeisance to him and the with the Mayor presented him kays of the city, saying "As- sembled in this ancient Palace, witness of so many memorable events, the Monegasque people recognise Your Serene Highness at the start of His Reign, their legitimate Sovereign, pre- sent him with the expression of their traditional devotion and assure him of their unalterable loyalty."
of
guests, a A short, formal announcement a at the Palace gates said; "Louis II, by the Grace of God
took off histle-In the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, has passed away." It was
mornings only--and wore un open-necked sports shirl, the signed "Rainier III, by the Grace of God Sovereign Prince
only sensible apparel in Monaco's The little Prince of Summerfields and Stowe, of Monaco,"
warm climate. Then he took to the wartime subaltern, had become the ruler of his people.
wearing shorts. The first thing that Prince
When he was seen, clad in a Rainier did when he found
breezy Californian sun outfit, Everywhere ho went in those athletically running down the himself the 26th ruler Monaco was to announce that first few weeks of his reign he hill to what the Monegasques
mornings at
greeted the Palace was
strange, amusingly call te Beach, court henceforth belonged to plain Mr armusing, anachronistic legacies oflein's gasped. Was this the way Opera House for a whole season.
or of the past. The Paince garage of a Prince of the Blood? Grimaldi and that affairs of
it He did so with great taste and State would have to wait for a large vaulted affair, contained
was and what was interest and often attended re- worthy certainly the afternoon. A French news two cars, both models
more, they were told bluntly, hearsals, especially since he promptly dubbed him of an exhibition; there was an "You' nin's see nothing yet ....
Rolls-
old custom, un- high-wheeled "The Prince who Reigns in the ancient
Wallwork chrome
still Afternoon." In many ways the Royce, its description was quite apt. shining after thirty years, and a dashing hispano-suiza of the Rainier hales pomp and type
In vogue in the 1900's. circumstanco and is only willing There were also
ROLEX
the
paper
to put up with ceremony when chauffeurs in
by
the total Pa
Two chauffeur
an
two
found that an
the
Who Reigns In The
it appears to be essential to the staff of 89. Promptly he
His fishing expeditions filled changed for 150 years, dictated running of the country. Head "I can drive, of a lilliputian state, he has no not working very hard, will be them with great despondency. that a dozen bottles of the best Illusions about his importance: plenty for "me."" But, against Rainier never goes fishing, like, champagne should always be he realises that too much stress this economy, be replaced most other people, with a rod kept en lee in the Prince's Box
uniforms,
grandfather's formal on gaudy
antique and line. That's far too tame, for his convenience. He once nudiences and fusfarés would automobiles by Ave cars He puls on nippers and a mask, held a party in that box in the
and middle of the afternoon. throw him into ridicule.
American breathes through a tube It is ver hard
for modern
a French Vedette, two carries an automatic harpoon.
Above all, he soon made it enough Prince to keep a straight face Italian models, both super-
One day, he and a friend were clear that Rainier the man in when deach
with "Affairs of charged. and a custom-bullt exploring the rocky submarine tended to be left alone. He State"
to largely sports car whose engine he had approaches cmtre
the coast of travelled incognito everywhere, around local rates, a new school helped to design.
Corsica when they suddenly attended sports meetings (he has for
vast cave con- Whal
for a ringside scat is the building or new uniforms
use of having came across a brigade. For
matches Monaco's fre
ชโกะจ the most football if one has to drive at pletely occupied by Rainier, right from the start, fast cars.
a sedate pace? Rainier drove enormous stu-cow they had ever windows overlook the stadium). and he even drove himself to his cars, as he does everything scen-about
pounds of Nice or Menton place. He would play his full else,
for an evening fast and competently dangerously clumsy marine life. S part as reigning Prince, but for Naturally he had his ups and They took a the rest, since one could run downs.
He once jumped clear flipped their potograph of 1, Monaco with an eye on the from a sports car just as it was boat and discussed
and a hand on the
everything had to be in
treasury
Monaco's
his
In
Afternoon
the
Laler, Rainier took the salute at the cinema ir the focni ot a march post of the Monaeo
of the equivalent
three-and- Carabineers—all eighty-five of way up to their
A secretary once them-led by their Commander, ways of
him there during the a retired French Army Colonel Interval still wearing his sun- called Rene Severac. In great seal, he would enjoy him- hurting down a preciplee In spearing the beast.
the
Another time Alps.
ho Rainier already saw in that glasses: Rainlee hates to be re- evening, self and have a good and full told Palace officials
under the glittering that he sea-cow his first gift to the
chandeliers of the Thirono life. Most Monegasques seemed would be nway for a week, Oceanographic Museun when his
work Room, he shook hands with to think he was right.
/climbed Into onc or
the companion sald, "Of course, I'll
forty-one foreign envoys. The vast Palace, with its/supercharged jobs with a friend go after it...." 300-odd rooms, its tall ceilings and disappeared in a cloud of "Why do you say 'of couse?" and its immense frescoes could dust. Three days inter, Rainier asked sharply. never bo a real home for a Monegasques reading details of "But, only because you are young man of the nineteen the gruelling Tour de France the Prince of Monaco
A
WOD
A million garlands for her
hair;
But jewels and garlands don't
belong
CABLE from Cuba says a wealthy South American has paid a plastic
to
To noses half a yard too long.
A
*
I did not give my love a rore,
new nose
I did not give my love a rose Political notc
I gave my love another nose, potemisionua
and
Prince's official never, happily, Interfered with his play but what there was of It, Rainier performed sincerely and efficiently. In the first few months of his reign, for instance, he I
formed a local scientific
by rich and/or aristocratic Sir Puss
voters, who must always be in a minority,
Across
Sir Puss is in videtly black-
TOMORROW:
Ceremonial Duties
By
My Beard!
B
EARDS are now right
back in the fashion, though one wonders how many wearers realise the amount of disturbance they have caused through- out the course of history? Bearda have caused plenty of trouble of a publlo kind; what commotions they have created in family circles no one can assess.
In Russia, in the days of Peter the Great, men went to prison rather than shave. Alexander the Great compelled his soldiers to re- move their beards because his enemies made a practice of grabbing a soldier's beard with one hand, and hacking off his head with a weapon held in the other hand..
In France, during the 17th century, beards went out of fashion after Louis XIII chose to be clean shaven; and when
beards went out, wigs came in.
A
century ago, the King of Bavaria who was
was very fond of his razor, made a law forbidding citizens from proclaiming their manhood
and by whisker hlatory requis one foolish fellow, with vanity outrurining his discretion, being sent to pri-
UOS
for seven years for per- mitting a thy growth upon hia upper lip.
In
Shaved After Salmon
the
England, at the time of Henry the First, it was an offence to grow a beard, but Henry, being of Royal blood, thought that he might get away with it. He was mistaken. At church one morning, the Archbishop of Canterbury preached a sermon containing such a lurid picture of hell as being full of bearded people that the King burst into tears and was shom promptly after.
In the ware of the 11th cen-
and Saracens tury, Crusaders
battle
to
shave.
By
were able to identify friend and foe because the Crusaders alone were clean shaven. ThorO WIE, however, an unfortunate caso of mistaken identity in 1998 when Crusaders, after attacking An✩ Boch, killed some of their own number, because in the stress of had not found time they
Elizabethan days, the shaping of beards had become a symbol of status; a man's pro- fession, and even his attitude of mind, could be assumed from the cut of his beard, Fighting men were encouraged to trim their beards to the shape of a stiletto, The cult of the beard developed aspects of such Nation- al importance that in 1558 a pro- posal was made, in all serious- ness, to tax them, "
Bearded Queen
In the ancient civilisations, 100, beards were associated with personal prestige. In Egypt, the rank of the wearer was indicated by the shape and length of the beard. Many face adornments were,
apparently, falso and consisted of tufts of hair held in place by cords looped over the
Cuts,
It was sald of Queen Hatshe- put in the 10th century B.C. that she wore a false beard and dressed like a man at all publie ceremonies in order to conceal ber sex and, thus, attempt to re- tain all the powers of a Pharaoh for herself.
In Britain, boards were at height of popularity about the
**ighteen-fifties, possibly as
Gentlemanly behaviour of her aging admirer.
In the world she knew a boy.
stomach,
Sir Puss has been rolled on
8 reported here recently, first showed interest by clip- surgeon a large sum
The old-fashioned Tory may A the only caller at the new ing you across the car. If you provide his fiancee with
have been responsible for the nest, situated in district weTO Interested in a boy you illusion. because her own
Those offering them largely inhabited I gave my love another nose. selves for election were usually service officers, has been Sir him on his back, and bit his,
by retired sprang from an ambush, rolled was "much too long."
rich and/or aristocratie. They Puss, spent most of their winter days chasing little animais the countryside, and shooting and-white cat with a stim mill- his back several times during DURING a recent by-election anything that moved (including tary moustache whose white the past week or two, but on a reporter referred to "red- gilles) during other scasona chest gives the impression that each occasion he has picked brick Tories," meaning, I sup- of the year,
he is always dressed for dinner, himself up, washed his thiru front, brushed' his moustache, and waited' calmly for the next assault without offering resist- ance or retaliation,.
1.
A shorter nose to be my pride And walk in beauty by my
wide.
•
*
•
I might have given her a
vacht
But if I did I ask so what? How would it look to any chap That nose beneath a yachting
cap?
She might have had a bathing
pool
End then I might have felt a:
sce her nose in water
fool
To
arcen
Surface like a submarine;
A conning tower rising sheer
Before the body does appear.
NATHANIEL GUBBINS
Dose, artisan who live in to Many of them" "Ilved to a
beauty...
Fo
At firet Lottie's doubtful origins and unfortunate vironment gave her a feeling of inforlucity in the presence the unruffled muraneo, that) comes of breeding, and may have -Recounted for her bad behaviour. But gradually the influence of Sir Puse, is having tis effect. He is no longer assaulted when he calls. He
is even invited in to supper.
The object of his many visits I might have given diamond red-brick houses great age with great heartiness, has been Lottle the Devil Cat, Like the common in
rings.
One of the filusions cherished and drank quantities of port, probably half his age sol, still "Pygmalion" Lottle is, being A hundred precious pearls on here but always been that most which made them very red in retaining much of her kitten- educated in gracious living and
aringe
Totics are rich and/or arlain. Uio face.
hood “Emeralds)**" rubrics, jewels cratie living in mansions, old They were certainly not red- Mygalore
batmanor houses, or luxury flats, brick Tories, but they could "A thousand dresses by Dlor; Fow, ask themselves how a have been described as brick- Fur coats to make the vulgar Tory Government could be red, Tories "half as old as
selected to power supported only Tinie."
.
her character moulded by'a Lattle, accustomed to the gonfleman though how long Bir rough and clumsy, approaches Puss will remerüber, hà: 18","a of young alley cats in the gentleman remains to be soon. neighbourhood she has 'left,"
was at first puxxled by the (World copyrighty
+
the
the
result of people at home oldiers rettening from service with beards and elegant -whiskers. Fashionable among the professional classes was the Vandyke style, though, with the turn of the century, beards of a less distinguished kind won favour.
Barred By The Handlebar Perhaps the best news for all students of pogonotrophy (le. the science of beard cultivation) was the donation in Britain in 1947 of the Handlebar Club, one of the most exclusive clubs in the country. No one
with 3 daway him on this lips, or ave
aven a toothbrush moustache, was, or is, eligible for membership. The 15, candidate must display a mous- tache described as a
a reasonable growth with graspable ex- Eremities.
The
proclaimed alm
of the Club is to prove that wearers of beards and mous- tochos are men of character,
One Lactor militates against All these brave schemes to popularise whiskers. They dia- reard the fact that men grow old. Indeed the hair of
white haford middle-aged
"men tuum grey and BOPTIMUS
they..
can therefore be
really
decimily in some unwin
for a men to go about his job thrusting white, whiskers upon. the attention of his seniors, who may not know that the man Le not so old as he has chosen to
RONALD HORTON
+
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