The Princely Family gathered for the premiere of the documentary on Prince Rainier III
Prince Albert II, surrounded by Princess Stéphanie and Princess Caroline. Beside them, from left to right, Camille Gottlieb, Marie and Louis Ducruet, Andrea Casiraghi and his wife Tatiana Santo Domingo, Alexandra de Hanovre and Ben-Sylvester Strautmann. Direction de la Communication / Frédéric Nebinger
The 52-minute film retraces the life of the man who left an indelible mark on the Principality of Monaco.
On Tuesday 4 July, the screening room at the Grimaldi Forum was packed to the rafters. The preview of the film “Rainier III par lui-même” [Rainier III by himself] received a long standing ovation, accompanied by applause from the Princes’ Family, who had turned out in force. “It’s been such a long time since we’ve heard him, it brings back memories, good times (…) seeing this life story again can only be inspiring for us,” Louis Ducruet told Monaco Info after the screening.
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Both the Princely Family and the hundreds of viewers heard the Prince throughout the documentary. That’s one of its distinctive features: it’s narrated by the Sovereign himself. “We had to let the Prince tell his life story himself (…) In his own words, he tells his story, he tells the story of his reign, he tells the story of his Principality,” explained director Yann-Antony Noghès to Monaco Info a few days earlier.
The Monegasque and his team listened to 56 years of interviews throughout his long reign in order to create a complete narration by the Prince, accompanied by the voice of Fanny Ardant. It was a difficult gamble, as Thomas Fouilleron, Director of the Palais Princier archives, recounted after the session: “We knew Prince Rainier was discreet about his actions and his private life.”
On leaving the theatre, emotion, pride and memories seemed to touch the many spectators. Some were transported back to decades gone by, while others saw their grandparents at Prince Rainier III’s side: “Magnificent, moving, poignant”, concluded one spectator.
“The Prince at home”: revealing Prince Rainier III’s daily life
If you’d like to see the documentary, it will be shown again on August 24 at the summer cinema, and on October 25, November 15 and 18 at the Théatre des Variétés. In an interview with La Gazette de Monaco, Yann-Anthony Noghès mentioned the possibility of broadcasts on Monaco Info, TV Monaco and other channels.