Prince Michael of Kent
Template:Short description {{#invoke:Other people|otherPeople}} Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox royalty Template:British Royal Family
Prince Michael of Kent (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942) is a member of the British royal family who is 53rd in line to the British throne as of 2025. The younger son of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, he is a grandson of George V, nephew of Edward VIII and George VI, and first cousin of Elizabeth II. Michael's mother was also a first cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, consort of Elizabeth II, making him both a second cousin and first cousin once removed to Charles III.
Prince Michael occasionally represented Elizabeth II at some functions in Commonwealth realms outside the United Kingdom during her reign. Otherwise, he manages his own consultancy business and undertakes various commercial work around the world. He has also presented some television documentaries on the royal families of Europe.
Early lifeEdit
Prince Michael was born on 4 July 1942, at Coppins, Iver, Buckinghamshire.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> He was the third child of Prince George, Duke of Kent, who was the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary and a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and George VI. At birth, Michael was seventh in line to the British throne. His mother was Princess Marina, a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia.
At Michael's baptism on 4 August 1942 in the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle, his godparents were his paternal uncle the King; Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (for whom her son-in-law Prince Bernhard stood proxy); King Haakon VII of Norway (his great-uncle); US President Franklin D. Roosevelt (for whom the Duke of Kent stood proxy);<ref name="letter">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Frederica of Hanover, Hereditary Princess of Greece (his first cousin once removed, who was absent); Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (his paternal uncle, who was absent); the Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven (his paternal first cousin twice removed); and Lady Patricia Ramsay (his paternal first cousin twice removed). Because of the war, newspaper reports did not identify the location of the baptism and said instead that it took place at "a private chapel in the country".<ref name="times">The Times, 5 August 1942</ref>
Seven weeks after Michael's birth, his father was killed in a plane crash near Dunbeath, Caithness, Scotland, on 25 August 1942.
At the age of five, Prince Michael was a page boy at the wedding of his cousins Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.<ref name="60facts">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Education and military serviceEdit
Michael was educated at Sunningdale School and Eton College<ref name="edu" /> and is fluent in French as well as having a "working knowledge"<ref name="princemichaelbusiness">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> of German and Italian.<ref name="princemichaelbusiness" /> He is the first member of the royal family to learn Russian,<ref name="edu">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> of which he is a qualified interpreter.<ref name="princemichaelbusiness" />
Michael was commissioned into the 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) in 1963. He later served in The Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) after the amalgamation between the 11th Hussars and the 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) in 1969. He saw service in Germany, Hong Kong, and Cyprus, where his squadron formed part of a United Nations peacekeeping force in 1971. Subsequent tours of duty, during a military career that spanned twenty years, included a number of appointments on the Defence Intelligence Staff. He retired from the Army with the rank of Major in 1981.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1994, Michael was made Honorary Commodore (later Honorary Rear Admiral and then Vice Admiral) of the Royal Naval Reserve, and in 2002, he was made Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Benson (promoted to Honorary Air Marshal in 2012). From 2009 to 2012, he was Regimental Colonel of the Honourable Artillery Company and on 31 January 2012 became its Royal Honorary Colonel.<ref name="LG60084 SUP">Template:London Gazette</ref> He is also Colonel-in-Chief of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment in Canada.
Activities and patronagesEdit
As the third child of George V's fourth son, it was not expected that Prince Michael, as the only second son in the extended royal family, would undertake many engagements on behalf of the royal family. He has performed official duties in the Commonwealth realms other than the United Kingdom and has represented the Queen abroad.
He has, however, never received a parliamentary annuity or an allowance from the British Privy Purse, unlike both his elder brother, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and his sister, Princess Alexandra, who both carry out official royal duties. The Prince was given the use of a grace and favour apartment at Kensington Palace upon his marriage in 1978.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Michael represented the Queen at state funerals in India, Cyprus and Swaziland and, with his wife, Princess Michael of Kent, represented the Queen at the independence celebrations in Belize, and at the coronation of King Mswati III of Swaziland.
Michael supports a large number of charities and organisations.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some of his patronages and presidencies include: the Kennel Club,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Children's Burns Trust,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Maritime Volunteer Service,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Life Saving Society,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Royal Automobile Club,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> National Eye Research Centre,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Motor Sports Association,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Brooklands Museum Trust,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the Light Aircraft Association,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the London School of Business and Finance.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
He announced his retirement from public life in June 2022 as he approached his 80th birthday.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Marriage and personal lifeEdit
On 30 June 1978, Michael married, at a civil ceremony, at the City Hall (Wiener Rathaus) in Vienna, Austria, the German noblewoman Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz. After receiving Pope John Paul II's permission (a previous pontiff, Pope Paul VI, had barred them from having a Catholic wedding),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the couple later received a blessing of their marriage in a Catholic ceremony on 29 June 1983 at Archbishop's House, London.
At the time of the marriage, Marie-Christine von Reibnitz was both a Roman Catholic and a divorcée. She had been married to the banker Thomas Troubridge (1939–2015); they separated in 1973, divorced in 1977, and had their marriage annulled by the Catholic Church a year later, two months before her marriage to Michael. Under the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701, Michael forfeited his place in the line of succession to the throne through his marriage to a Catholic.<ref>Picknett, Lynn, Prince, Clive, Prior, Stephen & Brydon, Robert, War of the Windsors: A Century of Unconstitutional Monarchy (2002), p. 271. Mainstream Publishing. Template:ISBN.</ref> He was reinstated to the line of succession on 26 March 2015 with the coming into force of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, and was 51st in line to the throne Template:As of.
Michael and Marie-Christine have two children, both brought up as members of the Church of England and therefore in the line of succession to the throne since birth:
- Lord Frederick Windsor, born 6 April 1979 at St Mary's Hospital, London; married, 12 September 2009, Sophie Winkleman. Educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford. They have two daughters, Maud and Isabella.
- Lady Gabriella Kingston, born 23 April 1981 at St Mary's Hospital, London; married, 18 May 2019, Thomas Kingston. Educated at Downe House, Brown University in the US, and Linacre College, Oxford. Her husband shot himself on 25 February 2024 in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, leaving her widowed at 42 years old.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2014, Michael was successfully treated for prostate cancer.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Personal interestsEdit
CommercialEdit
Prince Michael manages his own consultancy business, and undertakes business throughout the world.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He is also a qualified interpreter of Russian.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
MasonicEdit
Prince Michael is an active Freemason.<ref> Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> He is the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Provincial Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
RussiaEdit
Prince Michael speaks fluent Russian<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> and has a strong interest in Russia, where he is a well-known figure (he is a former recipient of the Order of Friendship). Tsar Nicholas II was a first cousin of three of his grandparents: George V, Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia. When the bodies of the Tsar and some of his family were recovered in 1991, the remains were later identified by DNA using, among others, a sample from Michael for recognition.<ref>Russia: A 1,000 Year Chronicle by Martin Sixsmith page 220 paragraph 3, line 9</ref> He attended the 1998 burial of the Tsar and his family in St Petersburg.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He is an honorary member of the Romanov Family Association.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He is also the second cousin of Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia, who is a claimant to the headship of the Imperial Family of Russia. They share the same great-grandfather, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich. Michael is the patron of organisations which have close ties with Russia, including the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce and the St Gregory's Foundation.<ref name="Russia-Official"/> In his capacity as patron of Children's Fire and Burns Trust, Prince Michael has led fundraising rallies in 1999 and 2003 in Russia to raise money for the charity. He also led another rally in 2005 and raised money for the Royal Marsden Hospital and Britain's Charities Aid Foundation Russia.<ref name="Russia-Official"/>
Prince Michael served as the Patron of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce (RBCC). He left the position in 2022.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On 4 March 2022, Michael returned the Order of Friendship in the aftermath of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.<ref name="Petit">Template:Cite news</ref>
FinlandEdit
Prince Michael of Kent made a visit to Finland in 2017, during which he visited Helsinki, Espoo, Porvoo, Pori, and Tampere. The visit concluded with a gala dinner at the House of Nobility in Helsinki. The purpose of the multi-day visit was to enhance trade and investment relations between Britain and Finland.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2022, HRH Prince Michael of Kent visited Finland again, this time focusing on Tampere, Lempäälä, and Helsinki during the British Week. As part of his visit, he participated in various events, including a gala dinner at Svenska Klubben in Helsinki. One of the highlights of his trip was attending the British Week Platinum Jubilee 2022 Banquet in Helsinki. Additionally, Prince Michael and the British delegation visited several locations in Tampere, such as the Naistenlahti Powerplant, Nokia Arena, and the Kokkovuori Shooting Center in Lempäälä. During his visit, Prince Michael of Kent visited the Mannerheim Museum, which is the former home of Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim in Helsinki.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
SportEdit
Prince Michael was a part of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst rowing crew that won the Maiden Fours at Bedford in 1961.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Prince Michael competed for Great Britain in the 1971 FIBT World Bobsleigh Championships but crashed and failed to finish the event. He was official non-travelling reserve for the 1972 Winter Olympics.<ref name="times2">The Times, 21 January 1972</ref> He took part in the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally in an Austin Maxi, but he and his crew failed to finish the event.
Media scrutinyEdit
In 2002, both Michael and his wife were the subject of criticism over the rent paid on their accommodation at Kensington Palace following scrutiny by the House of Commons Public Accounts committee on the cost of royal palaces and whether they were value for money.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The committee had called on the Queen to evict its residents and put the apartments on a more commercial footing. When it was claimed that the couple paid a rent of only £69 per week for the use of their apartments at Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace announced that "The Queen is paying the rent for Prince and Princess Michael of Kent's apartment at a commercial rate of £120,000 annually, from her own private funds. This rent payment by The Queen is in recognition of the Royal engagements and work for various charities which Prince and Princess Michael of Kent have undertaken at their own expense, and without any public funding."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Related to Evening Standard, 10 March 2005; The Times, 9 May 2005.</ref>
Prince Michael has been scrutinized for financial assistance given to him by exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky through offshore companies, with a reported total of £320,000 in payments over the period 2002–2008.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In an interview with The Sunday Times, Berezovsky stated, "There is nothing underhand or improper about the financial assistance I have given Prince Michael. It is a matter between friends."<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
In May 2021, reports were published stating that Michael was "selling access" to Vladimir Putin's political representatives.<ref name="thetimesputin">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Footage from a Zoom call was released of Michael, alongside Simon Isaacs, 4th Marquess of Reading, interacting with undercover reporters posing as business executives seeking to make contacts with the Kremlin. In the video, he assured the men that his close ties with the country would be of benefit, and that he could introduce them to high-ranking figures within the Russian government in exchange for money. The call took place the day after the European Union imposed sanctions on the Kremlin.<ref name="thetimesputin"/> Michael was being offered £143,000 for a proposal and £36,000 a month by the faux businessmen, which he expressed satisfaction with. The Marquess claimed that Michael was the Queen's "unofficial ambassador to Russia" and had direct access to Putin. He later stated that he had "overpromised", while the prince said that he had not had contact with Putin since 2003. In a 2019 interview, Michael stated that he visited Russia twice a year as part of his work for the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce.<ref name="thetimesputin"/>
Marina Litvinenko denounced the prince's actions, saying that it demonstrated that he did not "care about human rights, democracy, about the people who are dying in Russia or what he did to your own citizens on UK soil".<ref name="thetimesputin"/> Conservative MP Bob Seely released a statement saying, in part: "We have sanctions against President Putin's regime for good reason. I'd love to know what Prince Michael thinks he is doing by making the UK's values and standards look optional."<ref name="thetimesputin"/>
Titles, styles, honours and armsEdit
TitlesEdit
OfficialEdit
As a child of a younger son of a British sovereign, he is styled as a British prince with the prefix His Royal Highness and a territorial designation deriving from his father's dukedom: "His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent".
Other titlesEdit
- Template:Flagicon Calabar, Nigeria
A person of honour and high standing in the Efik Eburutu Kingdom (Template:Langx).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
HonoursEdit
- File:UK Queen EII Coronation Medal ribbon.svg 2 June 1953: Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal<ref name=medal/>
- File:UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg 6 February 1977: Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal<ref name=medal/>
- File:Order of St John (UK) ribbon -vector.svg 18 January 2001: Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of Saint John (KStJ)
- File:UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg 6 February 2002: Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal<ref name=medal/>
- File:Royal Victorian Order UK ribbon.png 2 June 2003: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO)<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
- 4 July 1992: Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO)<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
- File:QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg 6 February 2012: Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal<ref name=medal/>
- File:CAN Canadian Forces Decoration ribbon.svg 19 October 2015: Recipient of the Canadian Forces' Decoration (CD)<ref name=ekscot>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
_ribbon_-vector.svg){kind=link}
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- File:UK Queen EII Platinum Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg 6 February 2022: Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal<ref name=medal>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- File:Coronation of Charles III Medal ribbon.png 6 May 2023: Recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal
ForeignEdit
- Template:Flag: Recipient of the United Nations Medal for UNFICYP (1971)
- Template:Flag: Member of the Order of Friendship (4 November 2009 – 4 March 2022)<ref name="Russia-Official"/><ref name="Petit"/>
- Template:Flag: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Francis I (19 August 2017)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Template:Flag: Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun (2 November 1994)
Wear of orders, decorations, and medalsEdit
The ribbons worn regularly by Michael in undress uniform are as follows:
Honorary military appointmentsEdit
- Canada
- Template:Flagicon Colonel-in-Chief, The Essex and Kent Scottish (14 November 2001 – present) <ref name=ekscot/>
- United Kingdom
- Template:Flagicon Honorary Commodore, Royal Naval Reserve (1 April 1994 – 2004)<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
- Template:Flag icon Honorary Commodore, Maritime Volunteer Service
- Template:Flagicon Honorary Rear Admiral, Royal Naval Reserve (2004–2015)<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Honorary Vice Admiral, Royal Naval Reserve (9 March 2015 – present)<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Honorary Auxiliary Commodore, Royal Naval Auxiliary Service (1990)<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Commodore-in-Chief, Maritime Reserves (2006–present)
- Template:Flagicon Honorary Colonel, British Army (10 November 2010 – present)
- Template:Flagicon Senior Colonel, The King's Royal Hussars<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Regimental Colonel, Honourable Artillery Company (2009–2012)<ref name="LG60084 SUP"/>
- Template:Flagicon Royal Honorary Colonel, Honourable Artillery Company (31 January 2012 – present).<ref name="LG60084 SUP"/> (member since 1981)
- Template:Flagicon Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Benson (27 June 2002 – 2012)<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Honorary Air Marshal of RAF Benson (1 March 2012 – present)<ref name="LG60091 SUP">Template:London Gazette</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
FellowshipsEdit
- Grand Master of the Order of Mark Master Masons of England
- Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation
- Chartered Institute of Linguists<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Royal Aeronautical Society
- Society of Genealogists
- Institute of Road Safety Officers
- Institute of the Motor Industry<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Honorary academic degrees and awardsEdit
Degrees and appointmentsEdit
- 1998: Plekhanov Academy of Economics, Honorary Doctorate<ref name="Russia-Official">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 2003: Sinerghia Economics and Finance Institute, Honorary Professor<ref name="Russia-Official"/>
- 2012: St Petersburg University of Humanities and Social Sciences, Honorary Doctorate<ref name="Russia-Official"/>
AwardsEdit
- 2002: The International Man of the Year Award, Plekhanov Economics Academy<ref name="Russia-Official"/>
- 2003: The "Glory of Russia", Plekhanov Economics Academy<ref name="Russia-Official"/>
ArmsEdit
IssueEdit
| Name | Birth | Marriage | Issue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lord Frederick Windsor | 6 April 1979 | 12 September 2009 | Sophie Winkleman | Maud Windsor Isabella Windsor |
| Lady Gabriella Kingston | 23 April 1981 | 18 May 2019 | Thomas Kingston (Died 25 February 2024)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
|
AncestryEdit
See alsoEdit
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Prince Michael of Kent's official website
- Prince and Princess Michael of Kent at the Royal Family website
- Template:NPG name
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