Grace Kelly
The scholars who preside over Monaco’s audiovisual archives are looking for a few good men.
Local Irish will get the Monaco-Philly connection instantly, of course: the gifted actress and East Falls native Grace Patricia Kelly became princess of the diminutive principality upon her marriage to Prince Rainier in April 1956.
In particular, the Archives Audiovisuelles de la Principauté de Monaco is interested in photographs of the brothers of Grace’s parents John Brendan Kelly, Sr., and Margaret (nee Majer). The Kelly men include Patrick, Walter, Charles and Georges; and on the Majer side, Bruno and Carl, Jr.
The Archives “collect, restore, preserve and archive the audiovisual patrimony of Monaco, private and public,” according to spokesperson Sylvie Primard.
“We have in our collection documents from the early 30s, concerning Princess Grace’s childhood. Our present task is to index and archive these items, which means that we should try to describe these images as well as we can for future generations.”
The early childhood photos remain private and are not available for public view.
Missing from the Archives collection are photos of the Kelly and Majer siblings. Archivists touched base with irishphiladelphia.com this week in the hope that one or more of our readers might be able to help.
Should you know the whereabouts of any of these photos—hey, maybe your great-grandad went to St. Bridget’s on Midvale Avenue as a boy and left you with a stack of black-and-whites—let us know, and we’ll put you in touch.
