The Royal House of Monaco: Dynasty of Glamour, Tragedy and Scandal

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: For those who feel the Brits have the dysfunctional royal family from hell, this book about the Grimaldis of Monaco will be an eye-opener. It covers Grace's marriage to Rainier--an unhappy sham of a marriage contrived to boost Monaco's economy, ending with Grace's tragic death due to a stroke while driving. Roughly half of the book covers the three troubled children, Caroline, Albert, and Stephanie, who are, to put it politely, a handful. We follow the two daughters through their teenage rebellions, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, troubled marriages, and (in Stephanie's case) drug problem; one cannot help but sympathize with their troubled parents and the heartbreak they've experienced watching their daughters destroy their lives. The sole son, Albert, is the most responsible of the three siblings, but even he is still 'sowing wild oats' at an age when he should be thinking about creating an heir to the throne. It's a gossipy sort of book--not an academic tome--but readers with some familiarity with Princess Grace will be fascinated.

Rating:
Summary: A terrific read. Riveting.
Review: I've long been intrigued by the Grimaldis of Monaco and trying to seperate fact from fiction. Therefore I was delighted to read about a new book on the subject and expected the usual fluff and conjecture that passes for many biographies.After buying the Royal House of Monaco I sat down and found I could not put it down.Glatt's in-depth study of Monaco after the death of Princess Grace gives a new insight into the principality and made me see for the first time the immeasurable effect the American film star had.The book is written clearly and consisely and really gives the reader a picture of Rainier and his children that scrapes away the tabloid headlines. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in the real story of fairytale Monaco and Glatt must have hit a real nerve as I read that the Grimaldis unsuccessfully tried to stop its publication in the U.S.

Rating:
Summary: "Royals" without the lies
Review: John Glatt pens a more truthful version of "The Royals," with less favoritism and more fact. Admittedly this isn't the British royal family (who have provided us with entertainment for many years) but a lesser-known (and no less juicy) dynasty, the Grimaldi's of Monaco.

Monaco first came to attention when Prince Rainier married the film star Grace Kelly, who brought glamor and modernity to the teeny little country. Grace's past -- involving multiple love affairs -- was swept out of sight as she ascended to the glamorous -- and severely stress-inducing -- position of princess, wife and mother. Rarely happy in her long and paparazzi-studded marriage, she nevertheless gave it her darndest and died tragically and suddenly when she was starting to find fulfillment again.

The book shifts focus after Grace's death in a car accident, to her three *ahem* spirited children: Caroline, who married one playboy after another, got pregnant out of wedlock, and once burst out of her top at a club, then had to shift into the social position that her mother left vacant. Albert, a playboy himself, who played around with one woman after another but wouldn't make even a vestige of commitment--even to one ex-girlfriend who had his baby, Tamara Rotolo. Stephanie, who shocked Monaco with her wild antics, drug use, explicit singing career and wild modelling career, bodyguard live-in boyfriend, and humiliating divorce after marrying said boyfriend.

Sound like a tabloid? Well, that's a royal family for you. Fortunately, Glatt doesn't speculate on the inner thoughts of the Grimaldi family (said to be under a curse from a witch raped by a Grimaldi) but allows their actions to speak alone. His writing style is pleasant to read, and gives us insights that other biographers apparently didn't get. I especially enjoyed the interviews with Cassini (Grace's ex-fiancee) Robyns who wrote a steamy biography but edited it at Grace's request, excerpts from members of the Grimaldi family, and from people who knew/know them.

This is hardly flawless. He describes Grace as a devout/militant Catholic, yet chronicles love affairs (with men married and single), an abortion, astrology beliefs, etc. Sorry, these are not the actions of a "militant" Catholic, though admittedly it is possible that she confessed these to a priest (something we will never know). He does occasionally linger on stuff that is more than we want to know, but it does give us a good look at the Grimaldis.

Stephanie, Caroline and Albert have already been in the spotlight, tabloidwise, so I suppose Glatt felt that there was no real reason to sugarcoat things. Rainier gets away the easiest, for though he was unfaithful to Grace during their marriage, very little space is given to it (as compared to Albert's girlfriends, Stephanie's partying days, etc).

In recent years the Grimaldis seem to have calmed down, but this book is nevertheless a heckuva read. If you liked the Royals but didn't like the made-up parts, try this book on for size.

Rating:
Summary: "Royals" without the lies
Review: John Glatt pens a more truthful version of "The Royals," with less favoritism and more fact. Admittedly this isn't the British royal family (who have provided us with entertainment for many years) but a lesser-known (and no less juicy) dynasty, the Grimaldi's of Monaco.

Monaco first came to attention when Prince Rainier married the film star Grace Kelly, who brought glamor and modernity to the teeny little country. Grace's past -- involving multiple love affairs -- was swept out of sight as she ascended to the glamorous -- and severely stress-inducing -- position of princess, wife and mother. Rarely happy in her long and paparazzi-studded marriage, she nevertheless gave it her darndest and died tragically and suddenly when she was starting to find fulfillment again.

The book shifts focus after Grace's death in a car accident, to her three *ahem* spirited children: Caroline, who married one playboy after another, got pregnant out of wedlock, and once burst out of her top at a club, then had to shift into the social position that her mother left vacant. Albert, a playboy himself, who played around with one woman after another but wouldn't make even a vestige of commitment--even to one ex-girlfriend who had his baby, Tamara Rotolo. Stephanie, who shocked Monaco with her wild antics, drug use, explicit singing career and wild modelling career, bodyguard live-in boyfriend, and humiliating divorce after marrying said boyfriend.

Sound like a tabloid? Well, that's a royal family for you. Fortunately, Glatt doesn't speculate on the inner thoughts of the Grimaldi family (said to be under a curse from a witch raped by a Grimaldi) but allows their actions to speak alone. His writing style is pleasant to read, and gives us insights that other biographers apparently didn't get. I especially enjoyed the interviews with Cassini (Grace's ex-fiancee) Robyns who wrote a steamy biography but edited it at Grace's request, excerpts from members of the Grimaldi family, and from people who knew/know them.

This is hardly flawless. He describes Grace as a devout/militant Catholic, yet chronicles love affairs (with men married and single), an abortion, astrology beliefs, etc. Sorry, these are not the actions of a "militant" Catholic, though admittedly it is possible that she confessed these to a priest (something we will never know). He does occasionally linger on stuff that is more than we want to know, but it does give us a good look at the Grimaldis.

Stephanie, Caroline and Albert have already been in the spotlight, tabloidwise, so I suppose Glatt felt that there was no real reason to sugarcoat things. Rainier gets away the easiest, for though he was unfaithful to Grace during their marriage, very little space is given to it (as compared to Albert's girlfriends, Stephanie's partying days, etc).

In recent years the Grimaldis seem to have calmed down, but this book is nevertheless a heckuva read. If you liked the Royals but didn't like the made-up parts, try this book on for size.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, as far as it goes
Review: Make no mistake, this is a book by a journalist, not a historian, and it reads that way. If that's what you're looking for going in, this will most likely satisfy your curiosity.

Although the subtitle mentions the Grimaldi 'dynasty,' 70 percent or so of the book is about the, um, 'complex' personal lives of Princesses Caroline and Stephanie and Prince Albert, the three children of Rainier and Grace. There's little effort to put the dynasty or the principality in more than the immediate historical context, and although Rainier is frequently described as an absolute monarch or even 'Europe's last dictator' (which isn't even true), matters of state take a distinct back seat to the 'glamour, tragedy, and scandal.'

This is too bad. One of the most interesting assertions in the whole book was a comment from one of Glatt's sources to the effect that the Grimaldis were not becoming tawdry, but rather had always BEEN tawdry, and had hidden that fact behind a false front of elegance while Princess Grace was alive. I don't know if that's true or not: Glatt unfortunately lets the statement pass almost unanalyzed.

Glatt is to be commended, at least, for the variety of his sources, including several who (at least according to Glatt himself) had never spoken on the record before. While the book frequently reads like an extended essay in People magazine, Glatt avoids the temptation of acting omniscient about his subjects' thoughts and motivations. When they act inexplicably (which is disturbingly often), he says so. Glatt's tone is respectful and polite, but he didn't pull his punches. As someone who only paid cursory attention to the Grimaldis, I think I have a better understanding (and a lower opinion) of them as a result of this book.

A worthwhile read, all in all, for monarchy fans whose interests lie more in the personal than the political, the contemporary rather than the historical.

Rating:
Summary: Comme ci, comme ca
Review: This is a very interesting book to read, what with the glitz and the glitter that the author presents.
However, the historical accuracy is slipshod at best. There are a lot of lies published in this book that the author tries to pass off as true fact. He gets many dates and names mixed up as well.

I'd like this book better if there was at least some research put into it.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good and fair-minded biography
Review: While some "revelations" in this book should probably be taken with a grain of salt, overall, this is better than many Grimaldi biographies in that it is neither a hagiography nor a hatchet job. Glatt doesn't portray, say, Princess Grace as a saint, nor does he portray, say, Princess Stephanie as a monster. Glatt, though he clearly feels a measure of annoyance, even disgust, for some of the antics of the Grimaldi family, he also has compassion for them. For instance, when recounting one of the most salacious scandals to plague the family -- the videotape and photographs which showed Stephanie's husband making love to a Belgian stripper -- Glatt clearly feels bad for Stephanie (despite her appalling lack of judgement in latching on to the creep in the first place); she had really loved him and was genuinely hurt and humiliated by his betrayal.

Glatt also thankfully clears up allegations about Grace having a drinking problem -- allegations that surrounded her toward the end of her life because of her visible weight gain, and which another biographer, James Spada, dug up in the late 80s. Grace was, in fact, a moderate drinker, because she suffered terrible hangovers if she had more than a glass or two of champagne.

Though Prince Albert has managed to steer clear of the tabloid cover stories that followed his sisters around (due, no doubt, to Grace instructing him on how to be discreet about his love affairs, an education which she never gave to either of her daughters), he too has had his share of troubles. Glatt even makes a half-convincing case for one of the more outlandish assertions: that Albert fathered a love child who is a dead ringer for Princess Grace.

So all in all, a good, juicy read about fascinating and flawed people.