Prince Michael of Kent

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Prince Michael of Kent : biography

4 July 1942 –

Grace and favour apartments for minor royals have 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, whereas Prince and Princess Michael undertake similar duties at their own expense which are not categorised as official. Prince Michael moved to Kensington Palace when he was age 12 with his widowed mother (who died when he was age 26).

Prince Michael has been under close scrutiny by the media for financial assistance given to him by Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky. In May 2012, The Sunday Times reported how the Prince had received £320,000 ($514,000) during a six-year period from 2002 to 2008 into a family business owned by the prince’s secretary, from a fund controlled by Berezovsky in which 56 payments of between £5,000 and £15,000 were sent through offshore companies. 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."

Russia

Kremlin, where he received an Order of Friendship from the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev in 2009]] Prince Michael has a strong interest in Russia, and displays some physical resemblance to Tsar Nicholas II, a first cousin of three of his grandparents. When the bodies of the Tsar and some of his family were discovered in 1979, the remains were later identified by DNA using, among others, Prince Michael’s blood sample for recognition.Russia: A 1,000 Year Chronicle by Martin Sixsmith page 220 paragraph 3, line 9 He attended the 1998 burial of the Tsar and his family in St. Petersburg.http://www.romanovfamily.org/funeral.html Prince Michael speaks fluent Russian, and travels to Russia frequently. Prince Michael is an Honorary Member of the Romanov Family Association.

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 (now Honorary Rear 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). In 2009, he was appointed Honorary Regimental Colonel of the Honourable Artillery Company. He is also colonel-in-chief of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment in Canada.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

  • 4 July 1942 – present: His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent
  • The prince’s style and title in full: His Royal Highness Prince Michael George Charles Franklin of Kent, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem.

Honours

See also List of honours of the British Royal Family by country

  • 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 Venerable Order of Saint John
  • Order of Friendship () of the Russian Federation, 4 November 2009

Medals

  • United Nations Medal for UNFICYP
  • Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal 1953
  • Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal 1977
  • Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal 2002
  • Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal 2012