Monaco's Prince Rainier Dead At 81

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

(CBS/AP)  Albert, their only son, succeeds Rainier as Monaco's de facto ruler until a formal investiture ceremony expected after a mourning period. Albert, 47, had already taken over the royal powers — but not the throne — from his father last week after a royal commission decided that Rainier was too sick to rule.

Albert, who is unmarried, inherits a principality no larger than New York's Central Park but world-renowned for its casino and the annual Monte Carlo Grand Prix.

His father, after assuming the throne in 1949, had embarked on five decades of relentless expansion. Using landfill from the sea, Monaco expanded its territory by 20 percent.

Affectionately known as the "builder prince," Rainier oversaw the building of a whole new port, an artificial beach, a sparkling culture center and an underground railway station. A new breakwater project to allow large yachts and cruise liners to dock in the main harbor cost euro328 million.

Rainier could see his entire domain from the sandy-colored palace perched on a rocky cliff overlooking the sea.

However, Monaco has worked to overcome a reputation as a haven for questionable financial transactions.

It came under fire in 2000, and its relationship with Paris came under strain when a series of French official reports criticized its culture of banking secrecy and portrayed the principality as a shelter for drug barons, money-launderers and tax dodgers.