MONTE CARLO, Monaco -- The body of Princess Grace was put on view in an open coffin today to allow her grief-striken subjects to pay their last respects to the former movie queen.
As many of the Mediterranean principality's 28,000 subjects filed past the simple wooden coffin, speculation was rife that her younger daughter Princess Stephanie, 17, was more seriously injured than previously revealed and may even have been driving the car which crashed Monday on a mountain road in France.
Within hours of the annoucement late Tuesday that Grace had died from injuries received in the crash, most businesses closed, including the famed casino.
Unofficial sources said Stephanie suffered from injuries to her head and vertebrae and that doctors at the Princess Grace Hospital had put her in a neck brace to keep her head upright. But palace officials insisted that Stephanie had suffered only slight injuries in the accident.
'Princess Stephanie has not been told about her mother's death,' one of the sources said. 'She will probably not be able to attend Saturday's funeral services.'
Officials said that although Rainier, Princess Caroline and Crown Prince Albert were at the bedside, Stephanie was not present when Grace died.
The palace announced the American-born princess will be buried Saturday in historic Monaco cathedral, where she was married to Prince Rainier III in 1956 and where their three children were baptized in Catholic rites.
The palace spokeswoman said it was likely Grace would be buried beneath the floor of the cathedral next to the palace, where the father and grandfather of her husband are interred.
'She is beautiful still,' said a sobbing woman, one of the first to file past the 52-year-old princess' ebony coffin, opened to the waist.
Several mourners who viewed the casket told UPI that Grace's blue eyes, which captured the heart of Hollywood during her Oscar-winning movie career, were open. However, photographs from the chapel showed her eyes were closed.
The body laid in state in the Ardent Chapel in the Grimaldi palace where Grace made her home for 26 years. She was dressed in a high-necked white lace dress and laid on a quilt of orchids according to Marie Christine Bertina, one of the first subjects to pass by and kneel in prayer before the coffin.
'There were no marks on her face,' Ms. Bertina said.
Moments before the gates of the pink palace were opened to the public, Robertino Rosselini, a frequent escort of Grace's 25 year-old daughter Princess Caroline, left by a side door and drove away in a black convertible sports car. Rosselini, a land developer, is the son of actress Ingrid Bergman, who died in London earlier this month.
In New York, the Monaco consulate issued a statement denying news reports that Stephanie was driving the car which crashed in France, where the legal driving age is 18.
'Princess Stephanie was a passenger in the car driven by Princess Grace and was not driving at the time of the crash. There is a witness that Princess Stefanie was taken out of the passenger seat of the car following the crash,' the spokeswoman said.
She made the statement in response to French news reports that Stephanie had been driving. 'She is only 17 and you have to be 18 to drive in France,' the spokeswoman said.
Monegasques wondered about Stephanie's true condition, noting that original palace statements made no mention of the fact that Princess Grace was in very serious condition.
On Tuesday, the palace said that Princess Grace suffered fractures of her right thighbone, collarbone and several ribs when she was unable to make a sharp turn in the British-built Rover 3500 she was driving on a snaking road in the Alps.
The royal palace said the car's brakes failed, and a team from the auto-maker, British Leyland, was sent to the Riviera to investigate the accident.
While the palace press office reported that Grace was 'suffering greatly' from her injuries, it gave no indication her life was in danger.
Later, however, in a statement, the palace said: 'Her serene highness, Princess Grace, died at the end of the day due to vascular and cerebral hemorrhage.'
Many of Monaco's subjects lined up outside the pink Grimaldi palace to sign a book of condolences for Rainier and the couple's three children.
From atop one of the crenelated 13th century towers within the palace walls, three bells pealed out a sad and steady rhythm, marking the beginning of the official mourning.
The red and white flag of Monaco and flags portraying the royal seal -- two bearded warriors on either side of a diamond-shaped red and white checkerboard -- were at half staff and tied at their ends to prevent them from billowing in the gentle Mediterranean breeze.
Restaurants and hotels were operating normally, but almost all other businesses including the world famous casino, shuttered their doors until further notice.
'How sad, how sad,' said one street vendor pushing his cart uphill. 'We all loved our princess. She was so good to us.'
Joseph Repetto, who has driven a cab in Monaco for 15 years said: 'I only heard the news this morning. It is a cruel blow for Monaco. She was an exemplary lady. Her behavior was magnificent in the streets and at all times. She did a lot for the people of the principality.'
In a July interview with ABC Paris bureau chief Pierre Salinger, the princess said she would not like to be remembered as an actress. 'No, I'd like to be remembered as a decent human being and a caring one,' she said.
In Philadelphia, John B. Kelly Jr., her brother, said he had little idea her condition was so serious. He learned the news of her death from his sister, Liz, who lives in Ocean City, N.J.
Messages of condolence arrived in Monaco from around the world.
President Reagan said Grace 'brought character and elegance to the performing arts and always found time to make important contributions to her craft.'
Frank Sinatra, who co-starred in her final film, 'High Society,' said he was 'stunned, shocked and totally grief stricken at the news. Grace was a gracious, wonderful woman who was a princess from the moment she was born.'
The startingly beautiful blond princess was born Grace Patricia Kelly in Philadelphia, Pa., on Nov. 12, 1929.
She broke into Hollywood in 1951 with a small part in 'Fourteen Hours.' Just a year later, she took the movie world by storm with a stunning performance opposite Gary Cooper in 'High Noon.'
Grace won the Academy Award for best actress in 1954 for her portrayal of 'The Country Girl.'
In the same year Grace, filming Alfred Hitchcock's 'To Catch a Thief,' was introduced to Prince Rainier on the Riviera by friends, beginning a two-year romance that rivalled any of her screen performances for drama and splendor.
On April 18, 1956, a week after completing 'High Society' with Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly became Princess Grace of Monaco in a civil ceremony in the royal palace.
