Prince Michael of Kent

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Prince Michael of Kent bigraphy, stories - Grandson of George V

Prince Michael of Kent : biography

4 July 1942 –

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. He is also the first cousin once removed of Prince Philip. Prince Michael occasionally 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.

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.

At the time of the marriage, 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.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.

However, his wife became, and remains, 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 40th in the Line of Succession to the British throne. Educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford. Now with JP Morgan in Los Angeles
  • Lady Gabriella Windsor, born 23 April 1981; and 41st in the Line of Succession to the British throne. Educated at Downe House, Brown University, US and Linacre College, Oxford.

Issue

Name Birth Marriage Issue
Lord Frederick Windsor 6 April 1979 12 September 2009 Sophie Winkleman
Lady Gabriella Windsor 23 April 1981

Ancestry

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.The Times, 21 January 1972

Controversy

Both Prince and Princess Michael of Kent have been the focus of 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.Picknett, Prince, Prior & Brydon, p. 311. The British Monarchy Media Centre, however, denies 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." The Queen agreed to pay the market rent until 2009, after which Prince Michael must assume the payments. Anticipating the loss of the 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.