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With Home Purchase, Prince Albert Reaffirms Grace Kelly's Lasting Legacy

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- When Prince Albert of Monaco waved to fans and media from the front steps of Grace Kelly's childhood home in East Falls, it was a gesture of preservation to his mother's lasting legacy.

Albert did a walk-through of the home Tuesday after purchasing the 2.5 story colonial for $754,000 dollars. It's where his mother accepted the marriage proposal Prince Rainier, turning Hollywood starlet Grace Kelly into Princess Grace of Monaco.

It's a fairy-tale story that still resonates with a younger generation.

"I think of a really beautiful woman who left a great legacy," said Elizabeth Bast.

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Albert told People Magazine that he may use the property to house his mother's Foundation or perhaps turn the home into a museum.

A statue of Grace Kelly's father John sits on the banks of the Schuylkill River. He remains to be one of the world's most revered rowers. John Sr. ran for mayor of Philadelphia in 1935. His son John Jr., Grace's brother also ran for mayor at one time. He was a city councilman. The portion of Kelly Drive near the statue is named after him.

Despite the family making a royal name in Monaco the Philadelphia connection always remained. The Grace Winery in Glenn Mills is owned by Prince Albert's cousin and provided wine to the Prince's 2011 wedding.

And then there is Grace's Ocean City. In never before seen photos, provided to Eyewitness News, Princess Grace is seen in the way she liked best to be while at the shore, without her hair or makeup done. We are told that she was at her happiest while making hoagies for her family.

Along with the photos Eyewitness News was also given a note that was written by Prince Albert while on one of the family's summer vacations in Ocean City. An imprint on the note reveals another one that had been jotted down for his mother. It says "Aunt Grace, Call Frank Sinatra."

Proof that the starlet never parted ways with the region, instead put it on the Hollywood and Royal map.

With her childhood home now preserved, she reigns on as Grace Kelly Princess of Philadelphia.

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