MONACO - Prince Rainier, the ruler of Monaco, was in the intensive care unit of a hospital in his wealthy statelet on the French Riviera in a condition described as "serious but stable," sources said Wednesday.
The 81-year-old prince, the world's second-longest reigning monarch, was rushed into the resuscitation ward of Monaco's cardio-thoracic centre on Tuesday after his health abruptly and dramatically deteriorated. He has been in the centre since March 7 for treatment of a recurrent respiratory problem.
Rainier's three children by the former US film star Grace Kelly -- his heir Prince Albert, and his daughters, the princesses Caroline and Stephanie -- rushed to his bedside. Caroline came from Paris and Albert from Italy, a family source said.
They were followed by Monaco's archbishop, Bernard Barsi, and the parish priest of the principality's cathedral, Father Philippe Blanc. The two have often visited Prince Rainier in the past when he has been hospitalised.
A source close to the prince who declined to be identified said "his condition is serious but stable for the moment." He did not elaborate.
The palace said an official bulletin on Prince Rainier's health would be made later Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the palace released a statement saying the monarch had been showing "clear improvement" but that "a relapse of a lung infection has required a transfer to the intensive care unit."
Prince Albert, 47, is next in line to take power in Monaco when Prince Rainier dies. His father has increasingly delegated responsibilities to him over the past few years, as his heart and respiratory problems took an ever bigger toll on his duties as ruler.
While Princess Stephanie, 40, and Princess Caroline, 48, have filled European gossip magazines with their tumultuous romances, Prince Albert has shown little interest in that area and has denied rumours he is gay. Unlike his sisters, he has no children.
Prince Rainier's cardiac ailments first came to light in 1994, when he was given a double bypass. Since then, he has been admitted to hospital five times. In 2000, he had part of a lung cut away.
Prince Rainier III ascended to power in the tiny Mediterranean territory in 1949, three years before Queen Elizabeth II took the throne of England.
He became the darling of the jet set, and the people columns of the world media, when he married the US film star Grace Kelly in 1956.
They had three children before she died in a car crash in the principality in 1982.
The prince is the world's longest reigning monarch after Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who took his throne three years earlier.
Monaco was founded when Rainier's Grimaldi dynasty took control of the principality in 1297. The family was deposed after the French Revolution when Monaco was united with France, but restored under the Franco-Monegasque treaty of 1861.
The principality has a population of around 32,000, many of them ultra-rich residents enjoying its tax haven status.
03/23/2005 15:13 GMT