First exclusive photographs 1949

Excerpt from the memoirs of Père Arthur (Arthur von Felten), Mes Noces d’Or avec Monaco, p. 91 (translated)

Ted, whose real name was Edward, was a strapping, lanky fellow whose (red) moustache and (black) hair always puzzled me more than his blue eyes. An amateur photographer in 1949, he roamed Monaco and the Côte d’Azur in search of distinguished visitors worth photographing. Ted Quinn spoke little French and tried to outdo the official photographers.

For the High Mass marking the enthronement of His Serene Highness Prince Rainier III at Monaco Cathedral, Edward had no official pass of the kind issued by the tourist office to press photographers. What did he care! Ted made himself a pass that looked much like the real thing and, before Mass, strutted into the cathedral right under the noses of the somewhat overwhelmed guards.

At the time, there was a tacit agreement that no photographs were to be taken in the choir, so as to avoid disturbing the sacred ceremony. Well, Mister Quinn was the only one who took no heed of the restriction and risked being thrown out of the cathedral. He played his hand shrewdly. At worst, Ted could have pleaded that he had acted in good faith, since, as a foreigner, he was unaware of the rule …

In the cathedral choir, the thrones of the Prince and the Archbishop faced each other. During the ceremony, the bold Irishman ventured into the space in front of the high altar and photographed them head-on, from just two metres away …

These exclusive photographs earned Edward prominent placement in French and foreign newspapers, along with congratulations from their respective editors-in-chief. No doubt they were unaware of the “divine code of conduct” in force in the Principality. It must have been hard on the loyal and conscientious press photographers accredited by those papers to be outclassed, or even dethroned, by a young amateur unknown in press circles. When you want to get ahead, anything goes …