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It was during this week in 1982 when Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco drove away in her 1971 Rover P6 3500 before plunging over the edge of a steep, winding road – down a 120ft mountainside. It is claimed Kelly suffered a stroke, but there appears to be more to the story than that…

Princess Grace died of her injuries sustained in the crash, fashioning one of the most tragic losses in modern history. Known worldwide as America’s princess, Kelly’s life seemed to be a true fairy tale.

Born into a wealthy Irish Catholic family in Philadelphia, where she attended private schools, she then enrolled into the Academy of Dramatic Art in New York. Rising to stardom in Hollywood alongside the Broadway stage, she won public affection thanks to films such as Rear Window and The Country Girl. Yet, she abandoned her acting career to become royalty – marrying Prince Rainier of Monaco.

Sitting in the passenger seat of Grace’s Rover, a car she was apparently very fond of, was her daughter Stéphanie - who tried to regain control of the car after Kelly appeared to suffer a stroke, but was unsuccessful. 

When the emergency services arrived at the site, Kelly was still alive but unconscious. Despite their efforts, her head injuries, alongside fractured ribs, collarbone and thigh, were irreparable. Doctors believed that Kelly had suffered a minor stroke before the accident, making her susceptible to another. The following night, at exactly 10:55pm, Rainer decided to take Kelly off of life support. 

However, there appears to be more to the story than this brief summary. The original consensus was that Stephanie was at the wheel during the crash, something it took twenty years for her to break silence over. There was also a persistent rumour that the two ere arguing heavily over Stephanie’s then boyfriend. 

"I was not driving, that's clear," Stephanie, 37, said in an interview with the Paris Match magazine. "In fact, I was thrown around inside the car like my mother, who was catapulted on to the back seat ... The passenger door was completely smashed in; I got out on the only accessible side, the driver's."

A motorist traveling behind the Rover P6 reported witnessing the vehicle swerve violently back and forth before accelerating to well over 50mph, smashing through the stone barrier before careering down the mountainside. 

What usually gets left out of this tragic tale is the main political scandal in Europe at that time. Only 14 days prior to the fatal accident, a membership list of the infamous oligarchic P2 Lodge became public, causing the collapse of the Italian Government. Prince Rainer was leaked as chairman of the collection of nation destroying oligarchs. 

It seems that Princess Grace was planning to get away from Rainer, as her Rover was packed with luggage and belongings. She also suggested that she drive herself; the chauffeur would no doubt report back around their whereabouts. 

Conspiracy theory? You may brush it off as nonsense, but if the fact her life support was disconnected only hours after the crash isn’t enough to set your mind racing, strangely, the Rover was crushed into a cube, taken out into a deep section of the Mediterranean and sunk.   

Was the car tampered with? We’ll leave you to make up your own mind…