Flashback: Princess Grace Kelly visits campus

Editor's note: Each week this summer, The Chronicle's Lexi Kadis will look back at a story from years past that is relevant to current events, funny or impactful. The series will be called Flashback, and will run online weekly until the end of August.

Some of the stories will be from the week that the Flashback article is running, but may break that pattern for particularly relevant topics. We welcome readers' input about old stories they would like to see featured.

Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, was not the first American actress to marry into European royalty.

More than 60 years before Meghan and Prince Harry tied the knot, silver screen star Grace Kelly became the Princess of Monaco in April 1956 after marrying Prince Rainier III. Princess Grace visited Duke in September 1980 to participate in a poetry recital organized by the Duke University Performing Arts Committee.

“Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco entertained a reverent audience in Page Auditorium last night. Evocations was an evening of poetry and a sprinkling of prose,” wrote Paul Farmer, Trinity '82, in the article.

Princess Grace first read poetry publicly in 1976 at the Edinburgh International Festival. However, Farmer noted that “her stint as poetry reader has been brief” in comparison to her lengthy career as a film and Broadway actress.

Prior to her marriage, she starred in several movies—including Dial M for Murder, To Catch a Thief and High Society—as well as Broadways shows like The Father. She received an Academy Award for Best Actress for her work in Country Girl.

“Grace Kelly’s story became even more like a fairytale when, in 1956, she married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco,” Farmer wrote. “Although she has not acted in films […] Princess Grace has not forsaken the arts. She has narrated many documentaries and, since 1976, appeared in several poetry programs.”

It was poetry, rather than acting, that brought her to Duke in the fall of 1980. During the recital in Page Auditorium, she presented a collection of poems titled Evocations, which was compiled by John Carroll. 

Princess Grace’s stay at the University ended with an evening of food and music, Farmer reported. After the reading in Page Auditorium, she participated in a reception at the home of then-President Terry Sanford.

“At a reception following Evocations, at the home of University President Terry Sanford, Princess Grace welcomed a receiving line of Duke VIPS, while jazz artist Mary Lou Williams played several tunes on the Sanfords’ baby grand piano,” he noted.


Princess Grace and Terry Sanford
Courtesy of Duke University Archives
Princess Grace Kelly pictured with President Terry Sanford during her visit to campus.


Discussion

Share and discuss “Flashback: Princess Grace Kelly visits campus” on social media.