Monaco: The office of Prince Rainier III of Monaco yesterday issued its most pessimistic statement on Rainier's chances of survival, saying that "hope for a favourable outcome remains extremely weak".
Rainier (81) was hospitalised for a chest infection on March 7th and has been in intensive care, on a respirator, since March 21st. Earlier medical reports said his heart, lungs and kidneys were impaired, and he underwent dialysis this week.
"The state of health of his Serene Highness Prince Rainier III is still precarious," yesterday's statement by three doctors said. "At the same time, the medical team, in full agreement with the prince's children, considers it justified, for the moment, to continue active treatment."
It was the first time the palace referred to Rainier's children in a medical update.
Rainier has been in poor health for more than a decade, after triple bypass surgery in 1994 and the partial removal of his right lung in 1999.
In 2002, he changed Monaco's succession laws, making it possible for Prince Albert to assume the title of regent, which he did on Thursday, and for Albert's sisters or their children to succeed the childless prince. If Rainier recovered, he would regain power over the world's second-smallest country.
"I believe that dying is not the end," Rainier said in an interview in 1999, shortly after celebrating the first 50 years of his reign. "It is the act of dying that is difficult. Someone told me: 'Death is an accident that only happens to other people.' We all have a tendency to think we are immortal. We shouldn't fear death, but arrive there as gently as possible."
The Grimaldis have been pursued by paparazzi since Rainier married the US film star Grace Kelly in 1956.