Grace Kelly was a 1950s style icon

England have

Princess Grace of Monaco has died of the injuries she sustained in a car crash near Monte Carlo yesterday.

The Hollywood actress Grace Kelly - who starred in the Alfred Hitchcock hits Dial M for Murder and Rear Window -suffered a brain haemorrhage.

A statement issued by the royal palace said she died at 2130 GMT after her conditioned worsened throughout the morning and become irreversible by the afternoon.

It also said the former film star's husband, Monaco's head of state Prince Rainier, and her three children were at her bedside when she died.

The US-born princess' youngest daughter Stephanie was in the car at the time of the accident, but suffered only light bruising.

The news of her death was unexpected as previous reports from the palace had indicated that despite broken ribs, leg and collarbone she was in a stable condition.

The Monaco royal family also released an account of yesterday's accident and said the princess had lost control of the car when the brakes failed.

After leaving the road her 10-year-old Rover tumbled 100 ft (30.5 m) down a ravine, turning over several times before coming to rest in a garden.

But a witness who was driving behind the two princess said the car began zigzagging erratically some time before the crash happened.

Two engineers from British Leyland are on their way to Monte Carlo to examine the wreckage. 

Fawley oil refinery under construction

Mr Attlee spoke from a platform specially erected for the opening. In front of him stood an audience of 6,000 technicians and workmen, American and British, who have completed the project four months ahead of schedule.

The new Esso refinery should produce 5.5 million gallons (25 million litres) of oil a day, including 1.5 million (seven million) gallons of petrol - equivalent to a third of the country's existing needs for petrol products.

It is estimated the refinery will save Britain $100m a year in foreign exchange.

Mr Attlee said Fawley had been the biggest single constructional refinery job ever undertaken. American technicians and foremen had planned it and supervised the construction, but the labour employed was nearly all British.

The Prime Minister also touched briefly on the measures being taken to ensure adequate supplies of oil until the trade embargo on Persia (Iran) is lifted.

The embargo was imposed after the newly-elected Persian leader, Dr Mohammed Moussadeq, announced his decision to nationalise the country's oil industry in May.

It meant the Anglo-Iranian oil company, which accounts for Britain's largest single overseas investment, stopped production in July.

Britain is demanding compensation for future lost oil revenues.

Mr Attlee said in the meantime alternative sources of oil had to be found. Britain and the United States have been working closely together to find other suppliers and enough oil had now been found to last the rest of the year.

The prime minister said he hoped the position would improve next year. He continued: "I hope that this fact will be duly noted by all those Persians and I am sure they are the majority who do not wish to see their country ruined.

"We are anxious to come to an agreement with Persia and to resume our friendly co-operation. But the Persians must realise that a long delay may lose the market for Persian oil."

The Foreign Office has confirmed 3,000 tons of railway track equipment and 2,000 tons of sugar, which were en route to Persia, have been ordered to be returned to the UK.

haemorrhage: flow of blood from a ruptured blood vessels（出血）

irreversible: impossible to reverse or be reversed（不能取消地）

ravine: a deep and narrow hollow, usually worn by a stream or torrent of water; a gorge（峡谷）

erratically: in an erratic unpredictable manner;unpredictably（不规律地；不定地）

refinery: an industrial plant for purifying a crude substance（精炼厂）

embargo: a government order imposing a trade barrier（禁运）