Princess Grace of Monaco

Princess Grace Kelly's wedding was a 40-minute civil ceremony that took place in the Palace Throne Room of Monaco on April 18, 1956, and was broadcast across Europe. To cap the ceremony, the 142 official titles (counterparts of Rainier's) that Kelly acquired in the union were formally recited. The event concluded the following day with the church ceremony at Monaco's Saint Nicholas Cathedral. Kelly's wedding dress, designed by MGM's Academy Award-winning Helen Rose, was worked on for six weeks by three dozen seamstresses. The 600 guests included Hollywood stars David Niven and his wife Hjordis, Gloria Swanson, Ava Gardner, the crowned head Aga Khan, and Conrad Hilton. Frank Sinatra initially accepted an invitation but at the last minute decided otherwise, afraid of upstaging the bride on her wedding day. Queen Elizabeth II flatly refused to attend on the grounds of there being "too many movie stars."[citation needed] The ceremony was watched by an estimated 30 million people on television. The prince and princess left that night for their seven-week Mediterranean cruise honeymoon on Rainier's yacht, Deo Juvante II. Children and family Princess Grace gave birth to the couple's first child, Princess Caroline nine months and four days after the wedding. 21 guns announced the event, a national holiday was called, gambling ceased, and free champagne flowed throughout the principality. A little over a year later, 101 guns announced the birth of their second child, Prince Albert ...