MONACO will mix royal pomp, solemn Roman Catholic ceremonies and tight security as it hosts VIPs from around the world for today’s funeral of Prince Rainier III.

Monaco plunged into mourning, with its famed casino closing its doors upon news of the death of Prince Rainier III, the long-ruling monarch hailed for modernising the tiny principality once renowned as a “sunny place for shady people”.

PRINCE Rainier III of Monaco is conscious and his heart, lung and kidney functions have stabilised, the royal palace said yesterday, as worshippers in Monaco attended Easter Mass with a special prayer for Europe's longest-serving ruler.

The people of Monaco gathered today for Easter Mass with a special prayer planned for Prince Rainier III, facing a life-and-death battle against kidney, lung and heart failure in a hospital’s intensive care unit.