Tradition Grace Kelly 'insisted' on keeping after marrying into Monaco's royal family

Grace Kelly stunned the world by marrying into European royalty at the height of her career.

The Hollywood star fell hard for the handsome Prince Rainier of Monaco, the couple tying the knot in a lavish royal wedding watched by more than 30 million people around the world in 1956.

While Kelly walked away from movie stardom to a new kind of fame, there were some traditions she insisted on bringing to her new life in a new country, namely Thanksgiving.

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Thanksgiving, one of the biggest American holidays of the year, is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November and traces back to a custom expressing gratitude for a bountiful harvest in the cultures of both the Pilgrims who sailed from England in 1620 and the Native Americans they encountered.

The main feature of the Thanksgiving meal is an elaborately-dressed roasted turkey.

Kelly made sure this tradition was honoured in her new royal home, having grown up with the tradition in her hometown of Philadelphia in the US.

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She reportedly "insisted" on it.

Her son Prince Albert of Monaco shared the memory, telling People: "We either had a Thanksgiving lunch here at the palace or we would join the American Club over there on the Riviera or the Monaco/USA Association.

"They had Thanksgiving luncheons either at the Hotel de Paris or in another location, and so we would participate in that."

He said the turkey "wasn't common on European tables."

"We had turkey in the '60s and '70s because these organisations which had links with the US, of course. But it was virtually unknown in France, and there was very little of it," he explained.

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"But Mom insisted, and if we didn't have turkey at the palace for Thanksgiving, we would have it at Christmastime."

Grace Kelly and Prince Rainer welcomed three children – Prince Albert, Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie.

Kelly and Rainer were married for 26 years until her death in a car accident in 1982.

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