Aside from her lace and pearl wedding gown,Princess Grace of Monaco‘s famous floral dress may be her most iconic. After all, the movie star-turned-royal was a magazine cover girl in the outfit – which was also what she wore when Grace met her future husband.
Now, Princess Gabriella is taking a cue from her stylish grandmother.
The adorable 4-year-old royal stepped out with her parents, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco, and twin brother Prince Jacques on Friday toopen the “Princess Charlene walk” at the Monte-Carlo Complex. She wore a black floral dress, spicing up her outfit with a leather jacket and sunglasses.
The flowery skirt was reminiscent of Princess Grace’s well-known ensemble, which she wore on the cover of the March 1955 issue of McCall’s magazine.
Courtesy McCall’s; Prince’s Palace of Monaco/Facebook
Grace Kelly wearing floral dress.Bettmann/Getty
She would wear the dress again for another special occasion – her first meeting with Prince Rainier III.
Oscar winnerOlivia de Havillandpreviouslytold PEOPLEabout how she met then-Grace Kelly on a train in France and her husband suggested that Grace and Rainier meet while they were at the Cannes Film Festival, to which the actress agreed.
However, the day of their meeting didn’t go as expected.
Waking late, Kelly washed her hair before discovering a labor strike had cut off the city’s electricity. No hair dryer, makeup lights or iron. With two cars waiting downstairs outside The Carlton hotel, Kelly pulled her hair back, arranged it with flowers, put on her one unwrinkled outfit (the thick silk taffeta “Easy To Sew” floral model she’d worn a year earlier for McCall’s Patterns) and of course, finding the elevators without power, rushed down several flights of stairs.
Photo Edward Quinn
A fender-bender with photographers who had been following her delayed them and when they eventually arrived at the palace, Rainier wasn’t there. When he finally arrived, he invited Kelly to see his 225-room palace. She said she’d already had the tour. Undeterred, he proposed they visit his private zoo. They walked ahead, speaking privately, in the garden.Paris-Matchphotographers quickly recorded their meeting before Kelly hurriedly rushed back to Cannes. During the return, she described the prince as “charming.”
Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly in 1956.AP Photo
AFP/Getty Images
After their initial meeting, Kelly and Rainier began a private correspondence. Despite rumors, they largely succeeded in keep their developing romance secret until Rainier sailed for America, proposing seven months later during Christmas.
And the rest is royal history.
source: people.com
