The story of former Hollywood star Grace Kelly's crisis of marriage and identity, during a political dispute between Monaco's Prince Rainier III and France's Charles De Gaulle, and a looming French invasion of Monaco in the early 1960s.

Francis Tucker: [in a letter] Long after I'm gone, long after the House of Grenaldie has fallen, the world is going to remember your name, your Highness. You are the fairytale, the serenity to which we all aspire. And peace will come when you embrace the roles you have been destined to play: devoted mother, loyal wife, compassionate leader. Up against a task larger than yourself, you will overcome your fears. Those that preceded you will be forgotten. Those that follow you will be inspired by your strength and endurance. For no matter where you are in years to come, they will continue to whisper your name, the Princess Grace.
Grace: The idea of my life as a fairytale is itself a fairytale.
[last lines]
Grace: All I've wished for in life is to belong, to love and be loved, without doubt, without judgement, without condition.This will be my fairytale.
Princess Antoinette: And how long do you think you will last here?
Grace: Long enough to see the back of you.
Grace: I've reached my decision. I've thought about it, and... you'll have to find someone else to do the role.
Hitchcock: Is everything all right, Gracie?
Grace: Yes, everything's fine. I'm sorry, and good luck.
Hitchcock: Just remember, darling, don't stand too close to the edge of frame.
Emile Pelletier: If America supports Monaco, things will get complicated.
Charles de Gaulle: I've survived an assassination attack. I'm not afraid of an actress.
Prince Rainier: My family, my country has known conflict, and we've chosen to reject it, because that is not the future of Europe, gentlemen. The future is business for the sake of business. Not for the sake of government - and certainly not for the sake of de Gaulle's empire. If you value your liberty, then you, too, should understand that all tyranny needs to gain a foot hold is for men of conscience to remain silent.
Francis Tucker: You belong here.
Grace: [panicking] I can't do this without you.
Francis Tucker: If your family is to survive, you need to give them an ideal they can protect. And you need to do it alone.
Grace: Do you believe in fairytales, Tuck?
Francis Tucker: No, I believe in "happily ever after."
Count Fernando D'Aillieres: You must know exactly where to place each of these individuals in the pecking order, because almost every single one of them makes a profession to flatter and deceive.
Grace: So how will I know who to trust?
Count Fernando D'Aillieres: You won't. You're the Princess in Europe's oldest court, the target of all those hidden agendas. To rule is such a privilege.
Count Fernando D'Aillieres: It's another role for you to play.
Grace: Maybe I'm naive, but I believe in fairytales. I do, I believe they can exist if we really want them to. If, if we're prepared to work hard enough. I believe that the world will not always be full of hatred and conflict, if we're willing to sacrifice enough.
Prince Rainier: You want us to pay tax to France?
Emile Pelletier: This is a French protectorate, which has only ever existed because of French good will.
Prince Rainier: This is a sovereign national.
Emile Pelletier: My peers in Paris are not as understanding as I am. I am to return tomorrow with your full acceptance. So please work with me, your Highness.
Prince Rainier: [approaching him] Does de Gaulle really want the children of Monaco to grow up to be croupiers?
Emile Pelletier: Some would say that would be an improvement. Some of Monaco's children are running around like their mother, the offspring of a Philadelphia bricklayer.
Prince Rainier: [slaps him hard]
Francis Tucker: Rai, come along, just talk to the woman. You're nothing but silent and angry.
Prince Rainier: I don't know how, I don't know how to speak to her. You know I've never been good at this sort of thing.
Francis Tucker: She's your wife.
Prince Rainier: Well, that was your idea.
[first lines]
Chauffeur: Up here you can see the whole of Monaco, Mr. Hitchcock.
Hitchcock: Yes, I know.
Prince Rainier: Look.
[resuming wedding footage]
Prince Rainier: That's a fantasy. That's a fairytale, Grace, it's not real life. And it's not real love. Real love is, is obligation. At some point every fairytale must end. But you mustn't do this for your father, or for me. You must do it for yourself, Rai, and the children.
Count Fernando D'Aillieres: Monaco, protected by the oldest of weapons: guile and determination.