The Peter K. Murphy papers contain correspondence, memos and reports, cards, invitations, programs, itineraries, clippings, photographs, and printed materials related to Murphy’s career as a diplomat with the United States Foreign Service and his later work in the private sector. It also contains personal correspondence with family members, friends, and acquaintances. Topics include geopolitical matters, religious issues, current events, and diplomatic and social responsibilities. The collection has particular research significance for United States foreign policy and twentieth-century European political history, especially Monégasque history and the United States’ relationship with the Holy See. Correspondence also includes a reproduction of an account by Murphy’s father, Peter Alfred Murphy, recording his experiences during the Great Depression and World War II, 1915-1946.

Notable correspondents include Albert II, Prince of Monaco; George H. W. Bush; Agostino Casaroli; Raymond L. Flynn; Grace, Princess of Monaco; Martin Jenco; Bernard Law; William F. Murphy; Louis John Nigro; Rainier III, Prince of Monaco; Ronald Reagan; Frank J. Shakespeare; Achille Silvestrini; John A. Volpe; William Albert Wilson; and others.

Subject files include research materials on the history of the United States’ relationship with the Holy See; State Department reports and talking points that summarize political analyses and United States positions; clippings; speeches and eulogies; and a small number of photographs taken at the Vatican in the 1970s-1980s. The Prince Rainier III and Prince Albert II subject files include correspondence, telegrams, clippings, invitations, cards, itineraries, and programs. In addition to correspondence between Murphy, Prince Rainier III, Albert II of Monaco, and palace staff, there is some correspondence between Murphy’s wife Jacqueline and Grace, Princess of Monaco.