

Lovers, the two were also friends. Despite all the differences in background and taste, they liked being together. Rainier had few intimates among the people around him so he sweetly pressed Grace into the role of pal as well as wife and consort. She accepted with relish, for she, too, now had no one else. The Prince would even accompany her shopping, where he would goad her into spending more than tightfisted Grace was inclined to; and she would put up with his sailing in the succession of yachts. When bowling lanes made their appearance in Monaco, they both learned to bowl, so they could do it together. Some anniversaries, they would throw a party, but just as often, Rainier would drive Grace to the Hotel de Paris in his Lancia. They would take a quiet table for two in a corner of the terrace, and dine, dance, and toast each other with champagne—all by themselves. —Grace of Monaco: An Interpretive Biography