MONACO (AFP) - Residents of the tiny principality of Monaco bid farewell to their long-time ruler Prince Rainier III, who was to be laid to rest beside his beloved wife Grace after a funeral service of solemn royal ritual.



In spring sunshine a crowd of several hundred watched uniformed members of the royal guard carry Rainier's coffin through the black-draped palace gates and along the short route -- across the palace square and down a narrow side street -- to the Cathedral of St. Nicholas.

A cannon fired 36 shots from a fort overlooking the luxury harbour, slow bells chimed and a band played a funeral match to the beat of muffled drums. A line of Penitents -- members of a Roman Catholic order dressed in white and black robes -- accompanied the coffin, covered with a Monegasque banner.

Leading the black-clad mourners were Rainier's three children by the US actress Grace Kelly: Caroline, Albert, who has succeeded him as prince, and Stephanie.

Caroline's three elder children Andrea, Charlotte and Pierre were also at the head of the procession. Rainier's faithful dog Odin was led by a valet.

Hundreds of wreathes of flowers covered security barricades and were arranged over the steps of the white 19th century cathedral, which stands high on the edge of Monaco's old quarter with a stunning view over the Mediterranean sea.

A descendant of the 700-year-old Grimaldi dynasty, Rainier took power in the mini-state in 1949 and was Europe's longest-ruling monarch when he died aged 81 on April 6 after a month in hospital battling heart, lung and kidney problems.

"For each one of us the Prince was of course a sovereign, but also a friend, a member of our family .... That is why today our community feels like an orphan, deprived of this man who loved us and whom we loved and respected," Monaco's Archbishop Bernard Barsi said in his address.

Only a select few of the principality's 32,000 residents were able to attend the ceremony, which was relayed instead on giant screens in six churches. Caroline and Stephanie could be seen struggling to contain their tears, as the choir sang a mass for the dead.

The presence of foreign dignitaries such as French President Jacques Chirac, King Juan Carlos of Spain and Britain's Prince Andrew triggered an unprecedented security clampdown by Monegasque and French authorities.

Hundreds of police lined roads into the principality and much of the Rock -- the promontory over the harbour where palace and cathedral both lie -- was sealed off to non-residents. Airspace over the area was closed and waters off the coast declared off-limits.

Shops and businesses were shut across the tiny state -- which is no bigger than New York's Central Park -- and red-and-white Monegasque flags were at half mast or furled with black ribbon. Many shop windows bore portraits of the late prince and his family.

Over his long rule Rainier is credited with turning Monaco from a Riviera backwater into a thriving center of tourism and banking. He used his business acumen to modernize the economy and transformed a barren coastline into an urban crush of tunnels and high-rises.

But the prince will be best remembered for his fairy-tale marriage to Grace, which ended in tragedy when she died in a car crash in 1982.

He was to be interred later Friday in a private ceremony next to his princess in the cathedral's crypt.

A host of European royals attended the funeral, including King Albert II of Belgium, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Sonja of Norway. Deposed royals included King Constantine II of the Hellenes, the Count of Paris -- pretender to the French throne -- and the widow of the Shah of Iran.

Among the other invitees were Presidents Mary McAleese of Ireland and Janez Drnovsek of Slovenia and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.



The Grimaldis hosted an afternoon reception for several hundred guests after the funeral. A requiem mass in the cathedral for residents of Monaco was scheduled at 6:30 pm (1630 GMT), after which Rainier will be laid to rest.

Monaco has declared a three-month mourning period through July 6 for members of the royal family and household -- half that accorded to Princess Grace -- with one month for civil servants.

Caroline's third husband Prince Ernst August of Hanover was absent from the funeral. He is recovering in hospital from acute inflammation of the pancreas, but aides said his condition is improving.

grimaldi
funeral rainier