Monaco's Prince Rainier Dead At 81

Europe's Longest-Reining Monarch Dies After Month In Hospital

(CBS/AP)  Prince Rainier III of Monaco, whose marriage to the American film star Grace Kelly brought elegance and glamour to one of Europe's oldest dynasties, died Wednesday at the hospital treating him for heart, kidney and breathing problems. He was 81.

His royal palace announced Rainier's death nearly a month after he first was admitted to the hospital with a lung infection.

Rainier died at 6:35 a.m local time (12:35 a.m. EDT) at the Cardio-Thoracic Center. Prince Albert, his son and heir, was at his side. Rainier's doctors called Albert about half an hour earlier to tell him the end was near, the palace said.

A palace statement said Rainier died "as a result of the broncho-pulmonary, heart and kidney conditions that caused his hospitalization."

Flags, already lowered out of respect for Pope John Paul II, remained at half-staff. The two Monaco-based TV networks immediately interrupted programming with documentaries on Rainier's life and reactions to his death.

The mourning period could be fairly long, placing the funeral late next week, possibly Thursday, and making it unlikely to force another postponement of Britain's royal wedding between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles.

"Each of us feels like an orphan because the principality has been marked by his imprint over the 56 years" Rainier ruled the principality, said Patrick Leclercq, Monaco's head of government. While alive, Rainier was Europe's longest-serving monarch.

"Let us render, in dignity and respect, the immense homage that is his due for a body of work that resounded throughout the world and from which we reap the benefits," he said.