Prince Michael of Kent: Difference between revisions
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'''Prince Michael of Kent''' (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942) is a [[Grandchildren of George V and Mary|grandson]] of [[George V|King George V]] and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]], making him a cousin of Queen [[Elizabeth II]]. He is also the first cousin once removed of Prince Phillip. Prince Michael occasionally carries out royal duties representing the Queen at some functions in [[Commonwealth realm]]s 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. |
'''Prince Michael of Kent''' (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942) is a [[Grandchildren of George V and Mary|grandson]] of [[George V|King George V]] and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]], making him a cousin of Queen [[Elizabeth II]]. He is also the first cousin once removed of [[Prince Philip (disambiguation)|Prince Phillip]]. Prince Michael occasionally carries out royal duties representing the Queen at some functions in [[Commonwealth realm]]s 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== |
==Early life== |
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Revision as of 19:03, 17 December 2011
- "Prince Michael" redirects here. For other people named Prince Michael, see Prince Michael (disambiguation).
| Prince Michael of Kent | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Prince Michael of Kent in 1990, by Allan Warren | |||||
| Born | 4 July 1942 Coppins, Iver, Buckinghamshire | ||||
| Spouse | Princess Michael of Kent | ||||
| Issue | Lord Frederick Windsor Lady Gabriella Windsor | ||||
| |||||
| House | House of Windsor | ||||
| Father | Prince George, Duke of Kent | ||||
| Mother | Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark | ||||
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 Phillip. 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.
Early life
Prince Michael 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. The Duke of Kent was killed in a plane crash near Caithness, Scotland on 25 August 1942, just six weeks after his third child was born. At the time of his birth Prince Michael was seventh in the line of succession to his uncle King George VI.
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 at the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle, his godparents were: King George VI (his paternal uncle); the Queen of the Netherlands (for whom her son-in-law Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands stood proxy); the King of Norway (his granduncle); the President of the United States of America (for whom the Duke of Kent stood proxy); the Crown Princess of Greece (who was not present); the Duke of Gloucester (his paternal uncle, who was absent); the Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven (his cousin); and the Lady Patricia Ramsay (his cousin). 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][3]
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.[4]
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. 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.
Career
| Royal family of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms |
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Royal duties
As the third child of George V's fourth son, it was not expected that Prince Michael, as the only second son in the Royal Family outside HM The Queen's direct line of descent, would undertake royal and official duties. 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.
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 different charities and organisations.
His Patronages and Presidencies number over 100 and include:
- Association of Dunkirk Little Ships, Honorary Admiral[5]
- Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre
- Anglo-Hellenic League
- Battersea Dogs and Cats Home
- British Business & General Aviation Association (BBGA)
- Brooklands Museum Trust
- Chartered Institute of Linguists (IoL)
- Children's Burns Trust
- Colfe's School London (Visitor)
- Commission for Global Road Safety[6]
- David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
- FIA Foundation
- First Gear
- Genesis Initiative
- Institute of Certified Bookkeepers[7]
- The Kennel Club
- Light Aircraft Association
- London School of Business and Finance
- Maritime Volunteer Service
- National Eye Research Centre
- RoadSafe[8]
- Royal Automobile Club
- Royal Life Saving Society
- Russo-British Chamber of Commerce
- Society of Genealogists
- SSAFA Forces Help
- Thames Rowing Club
- Veterans Car Club of Great Britain
- World Class Learning Schools Group
- World Monuments Fund (UK)
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.[9]
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.[10]
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 35th 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 36th in the Line of Succession to the British throne. Educated at Downe House and Brown University, US. Now studying for an MPhil in Anthropology at Oxford University.
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.[11] 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."[12] 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.[13]
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).
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.[14]
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 body of the Tsar and his family was discovered by amateurs in 1979, the bodies were later identified by DNA, using Prince Michael's blood sample as recognition.[15] He attended the 1998 burial of the Tsar and his family in St. Petersburg.[16] Prince Michael speaks fluent Russian, and travels there frequently. Prince Michael is an Honorary Member of the Romanov Family Association.[17]
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
| Royal styles of Prince Michael of Kent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | His Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Sir |
- 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
- 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
- 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 (2002–present)
Honorary Rear Admiral, Royal Naval Reserve- Commodore-in-Chief, Maritime Reserves
- Regimental Colonel, Honourable Artillery Company
- Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Benson
Fellowships
- Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation
- Chartered Institute of Linguists
- Royal Aeronautical Society
- Society of Genealogists
- Institute of Road Safety Officers
- Institute of the Motor Industry
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
See also
References
- ^ As a titled royal, Michael holds no surname, but, when one is used, it is Windsor
- ^ The Times, 5 August 1942
- ^ Yvonne's Royalty Home Page – Royal Christenings
- ^ Royal.gov.uk – 60 Facts, Fact 9
- ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/court_and_social/article7113143.ece
- ^ The Big Red L Company pioneer BTEC in Driving Science course in Kent
- ^ http://www.icbglobal.org
- ^ RoadSafe – A partnership in road safety
- ^ 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
- ^ Russia: A 1,000 Year Chronicle by Martin Sixsmith page 220 paragraph 3, line 9
- ^ http://www.romanovfamily.org/funeral.html
- ^ Romanov Family Association
External links
- Use dmy dates from October 2011
- 1942 births
- Living people
- House of Windsor
- Princes of the United Kingdom
- Royal Navy officers
- 11th Hussars officers
- Royal Air Force officers
- Old Sunningdalians
- Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
- Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
- Knights of Justice of the Order of St John
- Interpreters
- Fellows of the Chartered Institute of Linguists
- British bobsledders
- People from South Bucks (district)
- Recipients of the Order of Friendship
- Romanov Family Association members