The Monegasque occupies a distinct place in international publishing - magazine where influence speaks in the first person. Contributors include global figures across sport, fashion, arts, heads of state and dynasts, each writing in their own voice.

In her article The Last Picture Show, Annette Anderson - president of the MonacoUSA Association and a key figure in Monaco’s cultural landscape - recounts the largely forgotten story of Rearranged, a short feature film produced and starred in by Princess Grace of Monaco shortly before her death in 1982. While the public widely considers High Society(1956) her final cinematic appearance, Rearranged stands as a little-known epilogue to her screen career.

Anderson, who moved to Monaco in 1989 and never met the Princess personally, was eventually granted rare access to view Rearranged in its entirety. The 33-minute comedy, privately screened just once at the Monaco Garden Club Gala in 1982, was created to promote the event’s 12th edition. Princess Grace, who founded the Garden Club in 1968, envisioned the project as a Hollywood-style production and enlisted Austrian director Robert Dornhelm, along with romance novelist Jacqueline Monsigny and her husband, American actor Edward Meeks.

The storyline, written by Monsigny, follows a case of mistaken identity: an astrophysicist arriving in Monaco is confused for a travel journalist and is unwittingly entered into a floral design competition by the Princess, who portrays herself in the film. Prince Rainier III appears briefly in a cameo as a fellow competitor. The production involved Garden Club members, staff, and even Princess Grace’s own chauffeur and head of security. Filming took place over ten days at locations across Monaco, including the now-demolished Winter Sporting building.

Though well received during its single public screening, the film was never released. ABC had expressed interest in airing it on television but required additional footage to meet broadcast length. Monsigny completed a revised script in the summer of 1982, and production was scheduled to resume that September. It never did. On September 13, 1982, Princess Grace suffered a stroke while driving and died the following day. The film’s final 15 minutes were never shot.

The only existing version of Rearranged is held by Monaco’s Audio-Visual Archives. Anderson describes how she first encountered it through a brief Japanese YouTube clip during research for a separate article. Through personal connections, she was eventually permitted to watch the full film privately under the supervision of the Archives. Despite limited sound quality, she recalls being moved to tears by the performance - a portrayal that conveyed the Princess’s warmth, grace, and composure in what would become her final onscreen appearance.

Anderson’s account in The Monegasque reconstructs a little-known episode in Monaco’s cultural history. It is not a tribute cloaked in nostalgia, but a factual retelling of an unfinished project that reveals the personal dimensions of a public figure whose legacy remains tightly curated.

Vladyslava Garkusha

Vladyslava Garkusha is an Actress, TV Host, Model, and Editor-at-Large of Dubai Voice. The People, Dubai, World and Global Perspective.