Celebrity News

Prince Albert II slams Nicole Kidman’s Grace Kelly film for untruths

Prince Albert II of Monaco has voiced criticism of a new Hollywood movie about his mother, Grace Kelly.

In a statement from the prince and his sisters Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie, he described the film “Grace of Monaco” which stars Nicole Kidman as “needlessly glamorized” and “historically inaccurate.”

The Palace said the Olivier Dahan-directed film contained “major historical untruths and a series of purely fictional scenes.”

“The Princely family wishes to emphasize that this film is by no means a biopic,” the statement said.

“It recounts one rewritten and needlessly ‘glamorized’ page in the history of the Principality of Monaco and its family.”

The film follows the legendary actress after she married Prince Rainier III of Monaco, becoming Princess Grace. It will feature Kidman and British actor Tim Roth as Prince Rainier.

In the film, due for release next year, Kidman plays the young princess during the 1962 crisis when France blockaded Monaco after a heavy tax dispute.

The Palace said it had been “surprised” when it received the script for the film, as it had “in no way been associated with this project.” It added it had submitted to producers several requests for changes but they were not all taken into consideration.

“The Palace of Monaco cannot accept that the producers of this film imply they have received Their Highnesses’ support in any way whatsoever, since this is not the case,” the statement concluded.

The film’s producer, Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, told AFP the production was meant to be a work of fiction.

“The palace was aware of the script and made requests for changes. We took most of their remarks into account, but not all,” he said.

In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, Kidman said the film was a dramatic work charting Kelly’s “path from cinema to royalty.”

“This is not a biopic or a fictionalized documentary . . . but only a small part of her life where she reveals her great humanity as well as her fears and weaknesses,” she said.