Kathryn wrote "I listened in silent glee while he re-enacted their parting scene, her threats of
suicide, public exposure, perhaps a suit for breach of promise."
Bing met Grace Kelly on the set of their movie, The Country Girl, in 1954, more than a year
after his first wife's death and after he had already started dating Kathryn Grant. At first Bing
objected to casting Grace in the role of his wife in the movie because he felt she was too
glamorous for the part. He finally consented to her selection and by the end of the movie they
were dating. The affair between Bing and Grace apparently continued even after Bing had proposed to Kathryn. Bing postponed his wedding to Kathryn that was set for Sept. 10, 1955, apparently because of Grace. Later that year Bing apologized to Kathryn for his fling with the future princess:BING: "You were gone for a very long time, you know, and it started out as just a party after our
movie wrap-up -- and then I suppose I had too much to drink and one thing led to another. Weeks
later, when I told her of my previous commitment to you, she utterly lost her composure. She had
always been so calm and serene, but now she wept and screamed at me. I can't understand why a woman would carry on like that. It was just terrible. Then she disappeared!"
Kathryn wrote "I listened in silent glee while he re-enacted their parting scene, her threats of
suicide, public exposure, perhaps a suit for breach of promise."
Bing said he postponed his marriage to Kathryn because "I had to have her found, to be sure she wouldn't carry out her threats. I couldn't let her harm herself or cause a scandal that might hurt you or your family. I must be rotten to the core to have treated you like this." (My Life with Bing, page 65)
Seven years later, in 1962, Bing and the now Kathryn Crosby (shown with Bing in photo at right) were invited to Monaco to be the guests of now Princess Grace and her husband.
Kathryn wrote: "Staggering in on high heels that should have been made of glass, I felt like Cinderella in reverse,
mistakenly donning her ball gown for a picnic.... There was nothing to do but to focus my charms
on the prince. His attention, however, seemed fully occupied by Bing and Grace, who had broken
the initial tension by the simple expedient of wrapping themselves around each other.... Bing and
Grace strolled in, still with their arms about one another's waists. Absorbed in each other, they
continued to chat amiably for a moment. Then, as if from an immense height, the princess deigned
to take notice of the uproar.... Her Highness turned back to her admiring escort and favored him
with a long, soulful Gallic look, the English translation of which seemed to be: 'See, if you'd only
married me instead of the over-dressed frump who is now leaving claw marks in the arms of my
Louis XVI sofa, you might have had disciplined children.'"
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