"Fairy tales tell imaginary stories.
Me, I am a living person. I exist."
~Grace Kelly.
Scorpios are known to leave their everlasting sting, mostly because they timely and wisely calculate their move, which undoubtedly is quite often aesthetically perfect. This was the case of the real-life princess Grace Kelly of Monaco, a Scorpio who for her 40th birthday threw a Scorpio-themed party. According to the newspapers of the time "guests ranging from European royalty to a Spanish bullfighter were among the 60 Scorpios Princess Grace invited to her 40th birthday ball" [1]. It is known that Kelly was into astrology and she regularly requested predictions sent to her from the renowned American astrologer Carroll Richter. If we look at her chart, first house looks like a Scorpio ballroom where along with her Sun and Ascendant, Mercury and Mars dance along with Pluto following his “trine-steps.” [Pluto trines both her Sun and Mars] [2].
Only Scorpios Invited!
In 12th November 1969, Grace turned forty. According to her biographer, shortly before her birthday she decided to celebrate it as she has never done before. She contacted Carroll Richter, the American astrologer in California who used to organize monthly Zodiac parties for the pertinent signs and exclusively invited only those who fell under a particular sign [3]. Taking a nod from him, Grace invited on Saturday, November 15th, 1969 to a dinner party and dancing only Scorpios and friends who were married to Scorpios. The grand Belle Époque hall of the Hotel Hermitage in Monte Carlo opened its doors to accept the sixty guests. Following the scorpio theme, the palatial ball and dining room were decorated with portraits of famous Scorpio individuals hung on the walls, such as Edgar Allan Poe, Queen Marie Antoinette and the sculptor Auguste Rodin.
Show me your Scorpio Colors!
The invitations sent out to the guests asked from the ladies to dress in the colors of Scorpio, predominately red but also black and white. Though the invitations bore the inscription High Scorpia, other associated Zodiac signs would be tolerated. In Grace’s opinion Scorpios and Geminis were two signs could never be in harmony [3]. Ironically, the man she married, Rainier III, the Prince of Monaco was a Gemini who wore a red shirt and handkerchief, predominantly a Scorpio color, with a black evening suit [3].
Princess Kelly accompanied Rainier in a black velvet Balenciaga gown. The ruby cabochon and diamond brooches she used to adorn the dress were detachable pieces from the Monégasque Bains de Mer tiara, designed by Cartier. Grace also wore a matching ruby ring [4]. In this Scorpio context, Grace called herself “Her Scorpio Majesty”, a title that according to her biographer she used again and again at other occasions, when she invited her old friends from Hollywood to gather together [3]. Let's see some more pictures of her Scorpio Majesty and those invited. (most of them through TheGettyImages website)
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| Veteran Singer Josephine Baker arrives with an unidentified escort at Princess Grace's Scorpio birthday party. |
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| Italian actress Virna Lisi and her husband. |
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| Actor David Niven and his wife.
A Pisces in Scorpio Robe!
Even though Grace’s birthday party was dominated by Scorpios, a famous Pisces actress managed her way to the Scorpio ball and became the center of attraction. Accompanied by her fellow actor and husband Richard Burton who was Scorpio, Elizabeth Taylor appeared at the party dressed in a black velvet robe decorated with the Princess’s astrological sign. Taylor displayed for the first time in public the legendary 69.4-karat, $1 million Taylor-Burton Diamond, which Burton had bought for her recently—on a double-strand necklace of smaller diamonds. According to Taylor, “first the diamond was flown from New York to Nice in the company of two security guards, who delivered it to her and her husband aboard their yacht, the Kalizma. The Burtons were then escorted to the party with their security guards, who were armed with machine guns as added protection.” [5].
  
The “Bite and Sting” Birthday Cake!
The centerpiece of any birthday party is of course the cake. Grace chose to treat her guests with a scorpio-themed 166lb (approx. 75kg) birthday cake. The giant birthday cake had golden scorpion decoration and it was too big to go through the hotel door. It had to be cut in half by the chefs before it reached the party [1]. On the following day of the party, the guests were invited to have breakfast at the swimming pool of the neighboring Hôtel de Paris, where they had also been lodged.
Sources:
~ [1]. The Australian Women's Weekly, Wed 17 December 1969.
~ [2]. Grace Kelly – Princess of Monaco Published: September 22, 2016 I. Author: Smiljana Gavrančić in http://astrologsmiljanagavrancic.blogspot.gr/2016/09/grace-kelly-princess-of-monaco.html
~ [3]. Grace: A Biography by Thilo Wydra [Skyhorse Publishing; 2014]
~ [4]. Inside Grace’s wardrobe in http://gracefilm.tumblr.com/post/89079275760/inside-graces-wardrobe-princess-graces-black
~ [5]. Bling-Bling! Bang-Bang! Liz Taylor Attends Grace Kelly’s Scorpio Ball in https://lisawallerrogers.com/tag/princess-graces-scorpio-party/
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