Once Upon a Time

Book excerpt: From master storyteller J. Randy Taraborrelli comes the powerful and moving story of one of royalty's most secretive families. Grace Kelly was swept away when the handsome Prince Rainier, a man she barely knew, asked for her hand in marriage. After a series of relationships with married co-stars, she was exhausted by the show-business lifestyle. If she married Rainier, she would be more than just a movie star, she would be Her Serene RoyalHighness Princess Grace. Once in the palace, however, Grace found herself trapped in a fairy tale of her own making. Forced to make sacrifices that cut deeply into the core of who she was as a woman, she would then surrender her desires and ambitions for her spouse and her children. Grace and Rainier may have been royalty, but they were also husband and wife, and parents- and, as such, just as vulnerable to the conflicts that can contaminate any household. Drawing upon hundreds of exclusive interviews with family and friends, ONCE UPON A TIME portrays its subjects with passion and sympathy, revealing Grace, Rainier, Caroline, Albert, and Stephanie in ways both startling and compelling.