Princess Michael of Kent

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
"Princess Michael" redirects here. For other uses, see Princess Michael (disambiguation).

Marie Christine
Princess Michael of Kent
Princess Michael of Kent (Armistice Day 2008).jpg
Princess Michael of Kent on Armistice Day, 2008
BornMarie Christine Anna Agnes Hedwig Ida von Reibnitz
(1945-01-15) 15 January 1945 (age 73)
Karlsbad, Greater Germanic Reich (now Czech Republic)
Spouse
Issue
HouseWindsor (by marriage)
FatherBaron Günther von Reibnitz
MotherCountess Maria Szapáry von Muraszombath
ReligionRoman Catholicism
OccupationAuthor, interior designer

Princess Michael of Kent (born Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz; 15 January 1945[1]) is a member of the British Royal Family of German, Austrian and Hungarian descent. She is married to Prince Michael of Kent, a grandson of King George V. Princess Michael was an interior designer before becoming an author; she has written several books on European royalty (mostly her cousins). She also undertakes lecture tours as well as supporting her husband in his public duties.

Early life[edit]

Marie Christine Anna Agnes Hedwig Ida von Reibnitz[2] was born on 15 January 1945 in Karlsbad, a town then in German-populated Sudetenland and now known as Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. She was born shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany and end of World War II in Europe, near the family estates of her Austrian maternal grandmother, Princess Hedwig von Windisch-Graetz; the expulsion of Germans resident in Czechoslovakia followed later that year. Princess Michael is the younger daughter of Baron Günther Hubertus von Reibnitz (Freiherr) by his second wife Countess Maria Anna Carolina Franziska Walburga Bernadette[2] (1911–1998), daughter of Count Friedrich Szapáry von Muraszombath, Széchysziget und Szapár, the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador to Saint Petersburg at the outbreak of the First World War.[3]

Princess Michael's father was a Nazi party member serving as a Sturmbannführer (Major) in the SS during the Second World War.[4][5] The parents divorced in 1946; along with her mother and elder brother, Baron Friedrich (Fred) von Reibnitz (1942), Princess Michael moved to Australia where she was educated at Kincoppal School. Marie Christine and her mother established a beauty salon, while Fred von Reibnitz (now living in Canberra) joined the Australian Public Service.[6] She subsequently moved to London to study History of Fine and Decorative Art at the Victoria and Albert Museum.[7]

Marriages[edit]

1999 portrait of Princess Michael by Allan Warren

Her first husband was the English banker Thomas Troubridge, younger brother of Sir Peter Troubridge, 6th Baronet. They met at a boar hunt in Germany and were married on 14 September 1971 at Chelsea Old Church, London. The couple separated in 1973 and were civilly divorced in 1977 (the marriage was ecclesiastically annulled by the Pope in May 1978).[2]

One month after the annulment, on 30 June 1978, at a civil ceremony in Vienna, Austria, she married Prince Michael of Kent, the son of Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902–1942) and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (1906–1968). Prince Michael is a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Michael presented Marie Christine with a two-stone sapphire-and-diamond ring made from stones that belonged to his mother, Princess Marina.[8] For the ball held after the wedding, she wore the City of London diamond fringe tiara and a 70s style dress.[9][10] Upon their marriage, she was accorded the style and title of Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent, the female equivalent to her husband's title: not being of royal birth, she is therefore not titled Princess Marie Christine. After receiving Pope John Paul II's permission, the couple later received a blessing of their marriage in a Roman Catholic ceremony on 29 June 1983 at Archbishop's House, London.

Since the Act of Settlement 1701 prohibited anyone who married a Roman Catholic from succeeding to the throne, Prince Michael of Kent (at that time, 15th in the line of succession) forfeited his succession rights upon marrying Marie Christine.[11] Prince Michael was reinstated to the line of succession to the British throne on 26 March 2015 with the successful passing of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013. Their children are members of the Church of England and have retained their rights of succession since birth.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent have two children:[2]

Activities[edit]

Prince and Princess Michael represented the Queen at the Belize independence celebrations and at the coronation of King Mswati III of Swaziland. Prince Michael also supports a large number of different charities and organisations, and Princess Michael supports him in his work.[12]

Since a teenager, Princess Michael has held a long and enduring passion for the conservation of cheetahs and she is international royal patron for the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia.[13][14]

Finances[edit]

Prince Michael has never received a parliamentary annuity or an allowance from the Privy Purse. The couple have had the use of a five-bedroom, five-reception grace and favour apartment at Kensington Palace. The Queen had paid the rent for the apartment at a market rate of £120,000 annually from her own private funds with the couple paying the nominal amount of £70 per week. The rent goes to the Grant-in-aid, provided by the Government for the maintenance of the Occupied Royal Palaces. The rent is based on the current rate for commercially rented properties at Kensington Palace, and is recorded in the overall figures for commercial rents in the Grant-in-aid annual report. 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," according to a statement released by the British Monarchy Media Centre.[15]

In 2008, it was announced Prince and Princess Michael would be required to begin paying rent of £120,000 a year.[16][17] Members of Parliament on the palace's committee had demanded the change after the Kents' rent had come to light.[16] The Kents have lived in the apartment since 1979, paying only their utility bills prior to 2002.[16]

Catholicism[edit]

Princess Michael of Kent observes the Roman Catholic faith and attended several events during Pope Benedict XVI's historic state visit to the United Kingdom in September 2010. She was present at Mass in Westminster Cathedral on Saturday, 18 September, where she was seated in the first row among other dignitaries, including Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor, the Duke of Norfolk and former Prime Minister Tony Blair; the Pope gave them an audience after Mass.[18][19] On the last day of the Pope's visit, 19 September, she attended the open-air Mass of beatification for Cardinal John Henry Newman at Cofton Park, Birmingham. Princess Michael was personally involved in the beatification process[20] and attended several other celebrations relating to his beatification before and after the Cofton Park Mass, including a commemorative concert of the Dream of Gerontius at Birmingham City Hall on 18 September. She also attended a civic dinner with invited dignitaries and bishops in Birmingham, before attending the Mass and meeting the Pope.[21] Previously, in November 2008, the Princess attended the translation of remains of Cardinal Newman at Birmingham Oratory along with other guests of honour, including Francis Campbell, HM Ambassador to the Holy See; the Lord Mayor of Birmingham and Lady Mayoress; Sir Ivor Roberts, President of Trinity College, Oxford and formerly British Ambassador to Italy; and Sir Derek Morris, Provost of Oriel College, Oxford. After the Translation Mass, Princess Michael was shown round Cardinal Newman's Room and Chapel and visited Newman's library.[20]

Apart from the Earl and Countess of St Andrews and Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor, who are members of the extended Royal Family, Princess Michael was the only member of the British Royal Family who took part in the Papal visit of 2010, except the state welcome by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the first visit in Edinburgh. Another Catholic member of the Royal Family, Katharine, Duchess of Kent, did not attend.

Princess Michael of Kent represented her first cousin-in law, the Duke of Edinburgh, at the launching ceremony of the Green Pilgrimage Network in Assisi, Italy, on 1 November 2011. It was organised by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), founded by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1995, in association with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), of which Prince Philip was formerly President. The Princess spoke on behalf of the Duke of Edinburgh and led the opening procession.[22]

In the media[edit]

Princess Michael of Kent in June 2003

The media claim she once declared to an American fashion magazine that she had "more royal blood in her veins than any person to marry into the royal family since Prince Philip".[23] She is also reported to have said she was "probably the first tall person to marry into the clan" (only true if males are discounted; Princess Michael stands about six feet (1.83 m) tall). The Queen has reportedly referred to her as "Our Val", a reference to the warrior-like Valkyries, and – a bit sarcastically – as being "a bit too grand for" the rest of the royal family.[24]

In May 2004 she was in the news when a group of black diners in a New York restaurant reported that the Princess had told them to "get back to the colonies" when complaining about their noise – an accusation she denied – though it made global headlines. She recounted as having made a remark to one of her fellow dinner guests that "she would be glad to go back to the colonies in order to escape her noisy neighbours". She then labelled her accusers as a "bunch of rappers",[25] somewhat wide of the mark, since the party comprised an investment banker, a music executive, a reporter, a television fashion correspondent, and a lawyer.[25]

In February 2005, she gave a series of interviews to promote her book, in one of which she claimed that Britons should be more concerned about the bloodlines of their children,[26] and claimed that the British media were "excited" by Prince Harry's decision to wear a swastika for a fancy dress party because of the British press' "ownership structure". She claimed that "there wouldn't have been so much fuss made" had he worn the hammer and sickle.[27]

In September 2005, she appeared in the media again, after the News of the World reporter "fake Sheikh" Mazher Mahmood apparently gained her confidence claiming that she made a number of intemperate remarks, including referring to Diana, Princess of Wales, as "bitter" and "nasty", and Charles, Prince of Wales, as "jealous" of his first wife's popularity.[27] The Princess commented on the Prince of Wales' marriages and his children's personal lives.[27] According to Mahmood, Princess Michael had made "deeply offensive revelations" about the royal family.[27]

On hearing that research by Dorothy Cheney and Robert Seyfarth seemed to indicate that rank among female baboons is hereditary, the Princess is alleged to have said: "I always knew that when people who aren’t like us claim that hereditary rank is not part of human nature, they must be wrong. Now you’ve given me evolutionary proof!"[28]

In January 2014, the Princess faced criticism after her interview with Conrad Black.[29] She described the older generation of the Royal Family as "boring for most people".[29] Princess Michael also said that she was "very fond of" Diana, Princess of Wales, but also stated that the late Princess had "little education", and both she and Sarah, Duchess of York, were abandoned by their mothers at a young age, which made it hard for them to deal with their status as royal figures.[29]

In September 2015, the Princess was in the news for stating publicly that animals do not have rights because they do not pay taxes, have bank accounts or vote.[30]

In December 2017, the Princess was criticized for wearing a blackamoor brooch with a stylised figure of an African man to a Christmas banquet at Buckingham Palace. Meghan Markle, the current Duchess of Sussex, a mixed-race American woman of African and European descent, and at the time the fiancée of Prince Harry, was present at the dinner.[5]

In May 2018, an ex-boyfriend of the princess's daughter Ella Windsor alleged that the Princess had named two black sheep in Gloucestershire Venus and Serena, after Venus and Serena Williams.[31]

Other ventures[edit]

The Princess is author of three non-fiction books, Crowned in a Far Country: Eight Royal Brides (Weidenfeld), and Cupid and the King – Five Royal Paramours (Harper Collins) and in 2004 released The Serpent and The Moon, a true story of love and betrayal in a royal family, and three novels, The Queen Of Four Kingdoms, Agnès Sorel: Mistress of Beauty and Quicksilver. She has also penned a number of articles for the Orient Express magazine.[32]

  • Michael of Kent, Princess (1986). Crowned in a Far Country: Portraits of Eight Royal Brides. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-79010-2.
  • Michael of Kent, Princess (1991). Cupid and the King. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-223911-6.
  • Michael of Kent, Princess (2004). The Serpent and The Moon: Two Rivals for the Love of a Renaissance King. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-5104-0.
  • Michael of Kent, Princess (2013). The Queen Of Four Kingdoms. Constable. ISBN 978-1472108456.
  • Michael of Kent, Princess (2014). Agnès Sorel: Mistress of Beauty. Constable. ISBN 978-1472119131.
  • Michael of Kent, Princess (2015). Quicksilver. Constable. ISBN 978-1472123060.
  • Michael of Kent, Princess (2017). A Cheetah's Tale. Bradt. ISBN 978-1784770693.

Before her marriage to Prince Michael, she worked as an interior decorator.[2] According to a report in The Observer's Pendennis column in September 2007, the Princess resumed decorating under her original company, Szapar Designs.[33] From 2007 to 2011, the Princess served as President of Partridge Fine Art, a gallery in London's New Bond Street until it went into administration having suffered substantial multi-year losses.[34] In 2008, the Princess was engaged as a consultant by Galerie Gmurzynska in Switzerland,[35] and later became their international ambassador.[7] She also served on the Board of Victoria and Albert Museum.[7] Marie Christine whose husband has a strong interest in Russia was reportedly taking Russian lessons as of May 2012.[36] The Princess also goes on lecture tours around the world and in countries such as the United States, Canada, Argentina, Greece, Austria, Switzerland and Russia where she talks about historical subjects at universities, museums and galleries to promote her books and endorse her charities.[2]

Health[edit]

In 2015, she underwent a surgery on her left eye.[37]

Titles, styles, honours and arms[edit]

Titles and styles[edit]

Royal monogram

Since her second marriage, Marie Christine has been styled as Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent.

Honours[edit]

See also: List of honours of the British Royal Family by country
National
Foreign
House
Other

Arms[edit]

Issue[edit]

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

Ancestry[edit]

On her father's side, Princess Michael is a descendent of the Burggrafen von Dohna, Herrand III von Trauttmansdorff and Nostitz family.[23]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Princess Michael of Kent". Hello Magazine. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Langley, William (15 December 2013). "Princess Michael of Kent: life beneath the tiara". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  3. ^ Graydon A. Tunstall, Jr, 'Austria-Hungary', in Richard F. Hamilton & Holger H. Herwig (eds.), The Origins of World War I, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2003, p. 119.
  4. ^ "SS Officer the Father Of a British Princess". The New York Times. 16 April 1985. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  5. ^ a b Greenfield, Patrick (22 December 2017). "Princess Michael of Kent apologises for wearing 'racist jewellery'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Launch of "Informing a Nation: The Evolution of the Australian Bureau of Statistics"". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "HRH Princess Michael of Kent". Atlantic Speaker Bureau. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  8. ^ Chang, Mahalia (27 November 2017). "A Very Thorough History Of British Royal Engagement Rings". Harper's Bazaar Australia. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  9. ^ "The 22 Most Gorgeous Royal Wedding Tiara Moments of All Time (slide 13)". Harper's Bazaar Singapore. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  10. ^ "The most iconic Royal wedding dresses". Marie Claire UK. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  11. ^ Picknett, Lynn, Prince, Clive, Prior, Stephen & Brydon, Robert, War of the Windsors: A Century of Unconstitutional Monarchy (2002), p. 271. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1-84018-631-3.
  12. ^ "Prince and Princess Michael of Kent - Activities". Royal Household. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  13. ^ "A Cheetah's Tale". www.princessmichael.org.uk. Princess Michael of Kent's official website. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent Joins Fight to Save Wild Cheetahs as Cheetah Conservation Fund's First Royal Patron". Cheetah Conservation Fund. 4 June 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  15. ^ "Corrections to inaccurate media stories about the Royal Family". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  16. ^ a b c Cockcroft, Lucy (6 October 2008). "Prince and Princess Michael of Kent to pay £120,000 rent for Kensington Palace flat". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
  17. ^ "Comment on Queen's grace-and-favour apartments". The Mirror. 14 June 2002. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
  18. ^ "Papal Visit 2010: Westminster Cathedral homily – Twitter Feed". Catholic Herald. 18 September 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  19. ^ "Papal visit: Pope expresses his 'deep sorrow' for abuse". BBC News. 18 September 2010.
  20. ^ a b "Translation of remains of Cardinal Newman at his Birmingham Oratory". The Catholic Church in England and Wales. Archived from the original on 21 September 2010.
  21. ^ "Pope has just met Princess Michael of Kent, Lord & Lady Nicholas Windsor, the Duke of Norfolk, and dignitaries".
  22. ^ "PRESS RELEASE: Green Pilgrimage Network launches with joy, hope, faith and practical plans". ARC. 8 November 2011.
  23. ^ a b van de Pas, Leo (2005). Sinners and Saints: A Biographical Introduction to the Ancestors of HRH Princess Michael of Kent. ISBN 0-646-45007-7.
  24. ^ "Faces of the week". BBC News. 28 May 2004. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  25. ^ a b Hamilton, Alan; Wapshott, Nicholas (27 May 2004). "You need to go back to the colonies". The Times. London. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  26. ^ Harding, Luke (17 February 2005). "Princess Michael defends breeding, Botox - and Harry". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  27. ^ a b c d "The fake sheikh and his greatest hits". The Independent. London. 6 September 2005. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  28. ^ Wade, Nicholas (9 October 2007). "How Baboons Think (Yes, Think)". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  29. ^ a b c Dampler, Phil (26 January 2014). "Princess Michael of Kent says old Royals are 'boring' and Princess Diana was 'uneducated'". Daily Express. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  30. ^ Furness, Hannah (29 September 2015). "Princess Michael of Kent says animals do not have 'rights' because they cannot pay taxes". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  31. ^ https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/04/race-and-the-royals-inside-kensington-palace
  32. ^ "Articles". Princess Michael of Kent (official website). Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  33. ^ "Interior Design". princessmichael.org.uk.
  34. ^ Walker, Tim (21 July 2009). "Princess Michael of Kent risks being another statistic of the recession". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  35. ^ "Art". princessmichael.org.uk.
  36. ^ Walker, Tim (21 May 2012). "Princess Michael of Kent talks her way into new Russian front". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  37. ^ "Princess Michael of Kent steps out at Buckingham Palace garden party with eye patch after surgery". Hello!. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  38. ^ "Image: Michael.jpg, (2197 × 1463 px)". royalinsight.net. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  39. ^ "Charities & Organisations - Religion". Princess Michael's official website. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  40. ^ a b "The Princess". Princess Michael's website. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  41. ^ "Members of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George". Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George.

External links[edit]

Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by
The Duchess of Kent 		Ladies
HRH Princess Michael of Kent 		Succeeded by
Princess Alexandra, The Hon Lady Ogilvy
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Princess_Michael_of_Kent&oldid=873070446"