PRINCE ALBERT took over last night the regency of Monaco from Prince Rainier, 81, who is in intensive care with breathing, kidney and heart problems.

A crown commission decided that the monarch was unable to exercise his royal functions and Prince Albert, 47, was asked to become temporary ruler of the province.

He is the only son of Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly, the actress who died in a car crash in 1982. He will become head of state when his father dies.

Prince Albert is set to accede to the throne without fulfilling his father’s public request that he should provide an heir before doing so: he is childless and unmarried.

Doctors treating Prince Rainier have said that they are uncertain whether he will survive and that the prognosis remains “extremely guarded”.

In a statement last night, the Monaco Royal Palace said: “The regency is assumed by His Serene Highness Prince Albert.”

It marks what many of Monaco’s 32,000 residents believe will be a historic date for a country that has been ruled by the Grimaldi dynasty since 1297. Although a palace spokesman said that Prince Rainier could take back his royal functions if his health improved, most people believe that his son will keep the powers he assumed yesterday, signalling the start of a new reign.

Prince Rainier, who has been on the throne since 1949 and is the longest-serving monarch in Europe, has suffered health problems in recent years.

He has transformed the principality from a tiny backwater into a global centre for high finance and jet-setting celebrities, and is very popular among his subjects.

Their main concern is to ensure a continuation of the policies that he implemented — notably the absence of income tax, tight security and a red-carpet welcome for the rich and famous. However, few observers can predict what sort of monarch Prince Albert will be. A shy, softly-spoken man, he is best known for his sporting achievements. He once hoped to become a professional footballer and participated at the Olympics as a member of Monaco’s bobsleigh team.

The Prince was educated in Monaco and then Ameherst College, in Massachusetts, and is fluent in French, English, German and Italian.

Prince Albert served in the French Navy for a year and then worked at an investment bank, an international law firm and a French luxury goods group. In Monaco, he has had responsibilities for the Yacht Club, the Red Cross, the international television festival and the 700th anniversary celebrations of the arrival on the throne of the Grimaldi.

However, there is concern at his failure to marry. Although he has been photographed with actresses and models, he has never shown signs of settling down. He says there is no urgency.

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