Prince Michael of Kent
- "Prince Michael" redirects here. For other people named Prince Michael, see Prince Michael (disambiguation).
| Prince Michael | |
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| Prince Michael of Kent in 1990, by Allan Warren | |
| Spouse | Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz |
| Issue | |
| Lord Frederick Windsor Lady Gabriella Windsor |
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| Full name | |
| Michael George Charles Franklin[1] | |
| House | House of Windsor |
| Father | Prince George, Duke of Kent |
| Mother | Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark |
| Born | 4 July 1942 Coppins, Iver, Buckinghamshire |
Prince Michael of Kent (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942) is a grandson of King George V and Queen Mary, making him a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Prince Michael of Kent officially carries out royal duties representing the Queen at some functions in Commonwealth realms outside of the United Kingdom. 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. He is named after Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, the younger brother of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and first cousin of three of his grandparents.
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Early life
Prince Michael of Kent was born on 4 July 1942, at Coppins, Iver, Buckinghamshire. His father was the Duke of Kent, the fourth-eldest son of George V and Queen Mary, who was killed in a plane crash near Caithness, Scotland on 25 August 1942, just six weeks after his son was born. At the time of his birth he was sixth in the line of succession to the thrones of six countries.
His mother was the Duchess of Kent (née Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark), a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia. As a grandchild of a British sovereign in the male line, he is styled as a Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with the prefix His Royal Highness.
At his christening on 4 August 1942, his godparents were Franklin Delano Roosevelt, then President of the United States of America; King George II of Greece; King Haakon VII of Norway; Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands; Lady Patricia Ramsay; the Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven; Frederika, the Crown Princess of Greece, Princess of Denmark and the Duke of Gloucester. Because of the war, newspapers did not identify the actual location of the christening, and said instead that it took place at "a private chapel in the country."[2]
At the age of 5, Prince Michael was a page boy at the wedding of his cousins, the Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh.[3]
Education and military service
Educated at Sunningdale School and Eton College, Prince Michael entered the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in January 1961, where he was commissioned into the 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own), in 1963. He saw service in Germany, Hong Kong, and Cyprus, where his squadron formed part of the UN peacekeeping force of 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.
In 1994, Prince Michael was made Honorary Commodore of the Royal Naval Reserve, and in 2002 he was made Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Benson. In addition, Prince Michael is president of SSAFA (Soldiers', Sailors' & Airmen's Families' Association) Forces Help, and of the Royal Patriotic Fund. He is also colonel-in-chief of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment in Canada.
Career
| The Royal Family of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms |
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HM The Queen
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Royal duties
As the third child of George V's fourth son, it was not expected that Prince Michael of Kent would undertake royal and official duties. Prince Michael has performed official duties in the Commonwealth realms other than the United Kingdom and has abroad represented the Queen as monarch of the UK. 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. As a member of the Royal Family, however, the Prince does receive VIP treatment wherever he goes. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office arranges for the Prince to receive VIP welcomes whenever he travels abroad on behalf of the UK, and he has use of Commonwealth realms' embassy staff when required. The Prince was also given a grace and favour apartment at Kensington Palace upon his marriage in 1978.
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 also supports a large number of different charities and organisations, including acting as the Commonwealth President of the Royal Life Saving Society.
His patronages include:
- the Chartered Institute of Linguists
- the Society of Genealogists
- the Harefield Research Foundation,
- the Children's Fire and Burns Trust,
- First Gear and
- the World Monuments Fund (UK).
- SSAFA Forces Help,
- the National Eye Research Centre
- the RAC Foundation,
- The Kennel Club
- The Global Road Safety Commission[4]
- RoadSafe[5]
- Battersea Dogs and Cats Home
- Brooklands Museum Trust
- the British Business & General Aviation Association (BBGA)
- Notchlezhka
- Institute of Certified Bookkeepers[6]
- London School of Business and Finance
- Official Visitor to Colfe's School London
- Honorary Admiral of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships[7]
Commercial
Given that the Prince does not receive any income from his royal duties, he has the Queen's permission to earn a living from commercial enterprise. As such Prince Michael manages his own consultancy business, and undertakes business throughout the world. He is also a qualified interpreter of Russian.
Masonic
Prince Michael is also involved with various aspects of Freemasonry - mainly as both the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons, and Provincial Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex.[8]
Marriage
On 30 June 1978, Prince Michael was married, at a civil ceremony, at the Rathaus, Vienna, Austria, to Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz, the only child of the Silesian nobleman Baron Gunther Hubertus von Reibnitz, and his Hungarian-born wife, Maria Anna Carolina Franziska Walpurga Bernadette, Countess Szapáry de Muraszombath, Széchysziget et Szapár.
The Kents' marriage was controversial because the Baroness was not only a Roman Catholic, but also a divorcée. She was previously married to 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, which governs in each realm the laws of succession to their respective thrones, Prince Michael forfeited his place in the lines of succession through marriage to a Roman Catholic.[9]
However, his wife became, and remains, a Princess of the United Kingdom, and is styled Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent (not Princess Marie-Christine, since she is not a princess in her own right, but only by right of marriage). Prince and Princess Michael of Kent have two children, both of whom remain in line to the throne because they are not Roman Catholics, having been raised as members of the Church of England:
- Lord Frederick Windsor, born 6 April 1979; married, 12 September 2009, Sophie Winkleman and 32nd in the Line of Succession to the British throne.
- Lady Gabriella Windsor, born 23 April 1981; and 33rd in the Line of Succession to the British throne.
Controversy
Both Prince and Princess Michael of Kent have received negative news stories in the media in the past. These have centred on accusations that the couple exploit their royal status for commercial gain. When it was claimed that the couple pay a rent of only £69 per week (although other sources state the figure as £76) for the use of their apartments at Kensington Palace, a committee of British MPs demanded they be evicted.[10] The British Monarchy Media Centre, however, refutes these controversial reports and states 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."[11] The Queen agreed to pay the market rent until 2009, after which Prince Michael must assume the payments. Anticipating the loss of his free apartment in London, Michael sold his country house, Nether Lypiatt Manor for £5.75 million in 2006, to the businessman and Labour government minister Lord Drayson.[12]
It should be noted that a grace and favour apartments for minor royals has a long tradition in the past. Prince Michael's brother and cousin currently have apartments in Kensington Palace, while his sister has one in St. James's Palace. However, they are all considered working royals, performing official duties, which Prince Michael does not perform. Prince Michael also moved to Kensington Palace when he was age 12 with his widowed mother (who died when he was age 26).
Sport
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 Olympic Games.[13]
Russia
Prince Michael has a strong interest in Russia, and is noted for his remarkable physical resemblance to Tsar Nicholas II, a first cousin of three of his grandparents. When the Tsar and his family were re-buried in Russia, it was Prince Michael who represented Britain. Prince Michael speaks fluent Russian, and holidays there frequently. In the novel Icon, by Frederick Forsyth, the monarchy in Russia is restored, with Prince and Princess Michael as Tsar and Tsarina. Prince Michael is an Honorary Member of the Romanov Family Association.[14]
He has been reported to have enjoyed trips to Russia sponsored by Russian entrepreneurs.[15]
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
| Royal styles of Prince Michael of Kent |
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| Reference style | His Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Sir |
- 4 July 1942 – : His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent
- The prince's full titles: His Royal Highness Prince Michael George Charles Franklin of Kent, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Honours
- KCVO: Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, 4 July 1992
- GCVO: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 2 June 2003
- KStJ: Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem
- Орден Дружбы: Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation, 4 November 2009
Medals
- UN Force in Cyprus(UNFICYP)Medal
- Elizabeth II Coronation Medal 1953
- Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal 1977
- Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal 2002
Honorary military appointments
Colonel-in-Chief, The Essex and Kent Scottish
Honorary Rear Admiral, Royal Naval Reserve- Commodore-in-Chief, Maritime Reserves
Fellowships
- Chartered Institute of Linguists
Arms
Prince Michael's personal coat of arms are the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, with a five point label- the standard 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.
Ancestry
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See also
- List of British princes
References
- ↑ As a titled royal, Michael holds no surname, but, when one is used, it is Windsor
- ↑ The Times, 5 August 1942
- ↑ Royal.gov.uk – 60 Facts, Fact 9
- ↑ The Big Red L Company pioneer BTEC in Driving Science course in Kent
- ↑ RoadSafe - A partnership in road safety
- ↑ http://www.icbglobal.org
- ↑ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/court_and_social/article7113143.ece
- ↑ pgm
- ↑ Picknett, Lynn, Prince, Clive, Prior, Stephen & Brydon, Robert (2002). War of the Windsors: A Century of Unconstitutional Monarchy, p. 271. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1-84018-631-3.
- ↑ Picknett, Prince, Prior & Brydon, p. 311.
- ↑ Corrections to inaccurate media stories about the Royal Family
- ↑ How will Princess Pushy pay the £120,000-a-year rent on Kensington Palace apartment? | Mail Online
- ↑ The Times, 21 January 1972
- ↑ Romanov Family Association
- ↑ David Linley wooed by ‘Kremlin’s cashier’. Billionaire friend of Putin set to buy stake in viscount’s furniture business. Nick Fielding The Sunday Times 13 January 2008.
External links
- Royal.gov.uk Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
- Prince Michael of Kent's homepage
- Provincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex
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Prince Michael of Kent
Cadet branch of the House of Wettin
Born: 4 July 1942 |
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| Preceded by Leopold Windsor |
Line of succession to the throne of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 19th position |
Succeeded by Lord Frederick Windsor |
| Line of succession to the Dukedom of Kent 6th position |
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| Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by The Duke of Kent |
Gentlemen HRH Prince Michael of Kent |
Succeeded by The Earl of Harewood |
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