PRINCE RAINIER 1923-2005

PRINCE Rainier of Monaco, whose fairytale marriage to Hollywood star Grace Kelly brought elegance and glamour to one of Europe's oldest dynasties, died yesterday.

It happened almost a month after he was admitted to hospital with a lung infection. He was 81.

The funeral is expected to be held on April 15, a palace official said.

Europe's longest-reigning monarch died at 5.35am Irish time from heart, kidney and lung problems at a hospital overlooking Monaco's glittering, yacht-filled harbour. His only son, Prince Albert, was at his side. The palace declined to say if his daughters, Princesses Caroline and Stephanie, were present.

The body of Prince Rainier, whose family dynasty took power in 1297, was moved to his hilltop palace where it will in lie in state. As news of his death spread, church bells tolled across the principality.

The flag above the royal palace was already at half-mast because of the death of Pope John Paul II. The mood among the Catholic population of 32,000 had been sombre for several weeks as the two leaders approached the end of their lives. "That makes two exceptional men who have left us," said Henri Natali, a retired policeman.

"Each of us feels like an orphan because the principality has been marked by his imprint over the 56 years" of his reign, said Patrick Leclercq, head of government in the principality.

The only son of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, Prince Albert, becomes Monaco's de facto ruler until a formal investiture expected after a mourning period. He took over the royal powers - but not the throne - last week.

The unmarried Albert, who has no children, inherits a French-speaking principality renowned for its casinos and the annual Monte Carlo Grand Prix.

Prince Rainier, who assumed the throne in 1949, had to endure the tragedy of his wife's death and relentless scandals, including criticism of the principality's tax laws, that plagued the final two decades of his rule.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said: "The affection felt by the people of Ireland for Prince Rainier and his family was of course strengthened by admiration for the late Princess Grace, and pride in her Irish heritage."