Probus Club of Meltham

Graham Read, a previous presenter, who is the motoring and Formula One
correspondent for the Yorkshire Times quoted Somerset Maugham describing
Monaco as ‘ a sunny place with shady people’.

He showed some pictures of modern Monaco and gave a short description of
the principality. He offered a brief history of the country and of the Grand Prix.
The Grimaldi family arrived by stealth to Monaco in 1297 disguised as monks,
hiding their weapons under their habits to take the area from the Genoese.
Their coat of arms still shows two monks with swords 726 years later. There
were two interregna, during the French revolutionary period and after 1942
during World War II.
In the 19th and 20th centuries the country needed to boost its finances which it
did by selling off land, developing the casino industry, (Casino de Monte Carlo)
tourism (Café de Paris) Monte Carlo Rally in 1911, and in 1929 the first Grand
Prix.
He talked about Prince Rainier III who became Prince in 1949 and needed
money to finance his lifestyle and the Monaco state. He was advised to
contract a marriage to a high profile American film star who would attract stars
and other wealthy patrons to the principality. After passing up Marilyn Monroe
as unsuitable princess material, Grace Kelly was wooed and the couple married
in 1956. She died in 1982 in a car crash although the marriage had become
unsteady. Prince Rainier was succeeded by his son Prince Albert II In 2005.
The Grand Prix was first included in the F.1 World Drivers Championship in
1950 and became a permanent part of the Championship in 1955. It is
regarded as one of the top three races in the world. The others are Indianapolis
500 and Le Mans 24 hours.
He described the difficulties of the course, well illustrated by detailed
photography, and some of the fatalities, particularly before modern improved
safety.
He showed the most successful drivers and some of the characters of the
course – in particular Graham Hill and gave a fond tribute to Murray Walker,
who had been his mentor. He also described how he had driven the course one
morning, nodding to a watching gendarme as he passed him three times.