Prince Michael of Kent

Prince Michael was born during the Second World War on 4 July 1942, at Coppins, Iver, Buckinghamshire.[1] He was the third child of Prince George, Duke of Kent, who was a son of King George V and Queen Mary and a younger brother of King George VI. At the time of his birth Michael was seventh in the line of Succession 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 his baptism on 4 August 1942 in the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle, his godparents were: his paternal uncle the King; the Queen of the Netherlands (for whom her son-in-law Prince Bernhard stood proxy); the King of Norway (his great-uncle); US President Franklin D. Roosevelt (for whom the Duke of Kent stood proxy);[2] the Hereditary Princess of Greece (who was not present), the wife of Paul of Greece, his first cousin-once-removed; the 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".[3][4]

Just 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.[5]

Eton College

He was educated at Sunningdale School and Eton College.[6] Besides being fluent in French and having a "working knowledge"[7] of German and Italian,[7] he was the first member of the royal family to learn Russian,[6] of which he is a qualified interpreter.[7]

Prince Michael entered the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in January 1961, from where he 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 1969 amalgamation between the 11th Hussars and the 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own). 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.[8][9]

In 1994, Prince Michael was made Honorary Commodore (later Honorary Rear Admiral and currently 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 has been, since 31 January 2012, Royal Honorary Colonel of that regiment.[10] He is also Colonel-in-Chief of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment in Canada.

Prince Michael of Kent in 2008

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 in the United Kingdom and receive British parliamentary annuities. The Prince was given a grace and favour apartment at Kensington Palace upon his marriage in 1978.[11]

Prince Michael has 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.

Prince Michael supports a large number of charities and organisations.[12] Some of his patronages and presidencies include: the Kennel Club,[13] Children's Burns Trust,[14] Maritime Volunteer Service,[15] the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships,[16] Life Saving Society,[17] Royal Automobile Club,[18] National Eye Research Centre,[19] Motor Sports Association,[20] Brooklands Museum Trust,[21] and the Light Aircraft Association.[22]

Prince Michael, photographed by Allan Warren.

On 30 June 1978, Prince Michael was married, at a civil ceremony, at the Rathaus, Vienna, Austria, to 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 Roman Catholic wedding),[23] the couple later received a blessing of their marriage in a Roman Catholic ceremony on 29 June 1983 at Archbishop's House, London.

At the time of the marriage, Marie Christine von Reibnitz was not only a Roman Catholic, but also a divorcée. She had been married to the banker Thomas Troubridge; they separated in 1973, divorced in 1977, and had their marriage annulled by the Roman Catholic Church a year later, two months before her marriage to Prince Michael. Under the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701, Prince Michael forfeited his place in the line of succession to the throne through his marriage to a Roman Catholic.[24] 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 is 48th in line to the throne as of June 2018.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent have two children, both of whom were brought up as members of the Church of England, and have therefore been 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.

In 2002, both Prince and Princess Michael of Kent 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.[38] 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."[39]

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.[40] 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."[41]

Royal monogram

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".

Arms

Coat of arms of Prince Michael of Kent

Notes As a descendant of George V, the Prince Michael's arms are based on the Royal Arms. The following explains the way in which his arms are differenced from those of the Queen. Coronet Coronet of a Grandchild of the Sovereign Crest On the coronet of children of other sons of the Sovereign, composed of four crosses-pattées alternated with four strawberry leaves a lion statant guardant or, crowned with the like coronet and differenced with a label as in the Arms. Supporters The Royal Supporters differenced with the like coronet and label. Orders The Royal Victorian Order circlet. VICTORIA Other elements The Royal Arms differenced with a five-point label - the usual differentiation for a male-line grandchild of a British monarch. The first, third and fifth points bear a red cross, and the second and fourth points bear a blue anchor. Banner Symbolism As with the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom. The first and fourth quarters are the arms of England, the second of Scotland, the third of Ireland.

• List of British princes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prince Michael of Kent.

• Prince and Princess Michael of Kent at the Royal Family website
• Prince Michael of Kent's official website
• Provincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex
• HRH Prince Michael of Kent GCVO is a Patron of LSBF