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On 06/05/1955, American actress Grace Kelly met Prince Rainier III of Monaco during her first visit to the Cannes Film Festival, where she was attending in connection with The Country Girl. Kelly was staying at the Carlton Cannes, then one of the best-known hotels on the Croisette and later part of the InterContinental portfolio. IHG’s corporate history links the hotel closely with the encounter and records that the Carlton subsequently named a suite after Grace Kelly. The meeting was arranged while Kelly was in Cannes, but the actual introduction took place at the Prince’s Palace of Monaco on the afternoon of 06/05/1955. According to accounts of the day, a power outage caused by striking workers affected the Carlton, leaving Kelly with limited time and facilities to prepare before travelling from Cannes to Monaco. Her party was delayed further by a minor road accident, and Prince Rainier arrived after Kelly and her entourage had already begun touring the palace. They eventually met and were photographed together by Michel Simon and Edward Quinn. Kelly’s appearance at Cannes came shortly after she had won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Country Girl. The film was selected in Competition at the 1955 Festival de Cannes, and Kelly attended the festival accompanied by French actor Jean-Pierre Aumont. Her stay at the Carlton connected the hotel with a period when Cannes was becoming increasingly associated with international film stars, photographers and high-profile social events surrounding the festival. The relationship between Kelly and Prince Rainier developed quickly after their first meeting. Their engagement was announced in January 1956, and they married in Monaco the following April, with a civil ceremony on 18/04/1956 followed by a religious ceremony on 19/04/1956. Kelly then became Princess Grace of Monaco. The couple’s first meeting has since been commemorated through exhibitions in Monaco and through the history associated with the Carlton Cannes. The hotel itself has maintained a strong connection with cinema. It has hosted figures from the film industry for decades, and its suites have been named after personalities including Grace Kelly, Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchcock. The Carlton also appeared in Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief, starring Kelly and Grant, further linking the property with Kelly’s screen career and the cultural history of Cannes. Historical Significance Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III’s meeting became one of the best-known personal stories associated with the Cannes Film Festival and the Carlton Cannes. Their marriage less than a year later connected Hollywood, Monaco and the French Riviera in a way that remains part of the documented history of both the festival and the hotel.