,type=downsize)
The Monaco royal family is reportedly mourning the death of a family member. According to Nice-Matin, Baroness Elisabeth-Anne de Massy passed away on Wednesday at the Princess Grace Hospital Center in Monaco. She was 73. The late Baroness was Prince Albert of Monaco’s first cousin and Princess Stephanie ’s godmother. Born on January 13, 1947, Elisabeth-Anne was the daughter of Alexandre-Athenase Noghès and Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massy, who was Prince Rainier III’s older sister.
The Baroness served as a flower girl at her maternal uncle’s lavish 1956 wedding to Grace Kelly . Per AP News, Elisabeth-Anne was also a witness at her cousin and goddaughter Princess Stephanie’s civil wedding ceremony to Daniel Ducruet in 1995.
The late royal family member had two children, son Jean-Léonard Taubert-Natta de Massy, whom she shared with her first husband Baron Bernard Alexandre Taubert-Natta, and daughter Mélanie-Antoinette Costello de Massy, who she welcomed with her second husband Nicolai Vladimir Costello. Elisabeth-Anne was president of the Monegasque Tennis Federation, the Monte‐Carlo Country Club and the Rolex Monte‐Carlo Masters. Elisabeth-Anne seemingly had a close bond with her cousins and accompanied them to different royal events over the years, including the annual Rose Ball, the Red Cross Ball and National Day celebrations.
Prince Albert became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco and head of the Princely House of Grimaldi following his father’s passing in 2005. Grace Kelly passed away over 20 years before her husband after being involved in a car accident. Albert recently opened up about his parents in BBC Two’s three-part series Inside Monaco: Playground of the Rich revealing that Princess Grace was “more tolerant” than his father Prince Rainier. He said, “It’s just incredible that so many years after her passing she still very much has a vivid presence in a lot of people’s minds and hearts.”