Dear
Friends,
Good morning. When Prince Rainier of
Among my fellow directors were:
Charles Brumbach (Chicago Tribune), Robert Erburu
(Los Angeles Times), Katherine Graham (Washington Post), Alan Neuharth (founder
of U.S.A.Today), Donald Newhouse (Newark Star Ledger, countless newspapers and
national magazines), Warren Phillips (Wall Street Journal), and Arthur “Punch”
Sulzberger (New York Times) just to name a few. As a matter of fact, M.B. and I
were present for the birthing of U.S.A. Today. Its Volume 1, Number 1
front-page story in September 1982 was the car crash, which took the life of
Princess Grace, the glamorous daughter of the Kelly family of
A year later, the A.N.P.A. board and
our spouses were visiting
As we ascended the stairs to
Ranier’s second floor, lavish quarters, I tripped and almost fell. A huge
portrait of George Washington had startled me. Obviously Princess Grace was a
fan of G.W.
Our guides had prepared us to spend
only one hour with the prince who was still in mourning. Protocol dictated that
each couple was to speak with him for only a few moments and then move on. The
prince was very shy, we were told.
A few moments later, Stephanie shook
hands with me and asked if I were Ty Meredith’s father? Ty never told us that
he had occasionally dated Stephanie during his scholarship year in
The prince’s team had done their
homework. He understood that I rowed on the
The next day, as M.B. and I were
walking through the cobbled streets, a limo screeched to a halt and a beautiful
young woman bounced out of the vehicle. “Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Meredith,”
Stephanie called out! We’ll always remember those very special days.
And so, Prince Albert has succeeded
his father and will govern Monaco where, as the New York Times reported (April
10), “Except for the unlucky French, there is no income tax, no capital gains
tax and no inheritance tax, which explains the large number of wealth, elderly
women spending their golden years here.”
Ah, what memories.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith