About Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
Prince Michael is involved in around 100 charities and organisations, including being Patron for a large number of these. Each year, he undertakes on average over 200 public working engagements for the not-for-profit sector, funded by his own household. The charities vary from reflecting his interest in transport, for example being Patron of the Brooklands Museum Trust, to his passion for Russia, including his own charity, The Prince Michael of Kent Foundation, which works to benefit heritage, culture, health and post-graduate business education in Russia.
Prince Michael has also taken part in fundraising challenges such as when he led a rally of Bentleys from Brooklands Museum in the UK to Moscow, covering 1,700 miles in ten days and raising more than £25,000 for the Children's Fire and Burns Trust.
Princess Michael is also actively involved in around 45 different charities and organisations, including animal and wildlife trusts and health and welfare charities. Reflecting her interest in the arts, she is also involved in the work of many cultural institutions in various countries, including being Patron of the London Arts Orchestra and of The Budapest Festival Orchestra.
You can see full lists of the charities and organisations supported by the Prince and Princess on their own websites:
- Prince Michael of Kent
- Princess Michael of Kent
Supporting the Queen
Prince and Princess Michael receive no public money, but do undertake a range of public duties, including representing The Queen at certain engagements. For example, Prince Michael has represented The Queen at State funerals in India, Cyprus and Swaziland. He also attended the commemoration event marking the 150th anniversary of the Crimean War in the Ukraine in 2004 on behalf of Her Majesty, and similarly was present at the reburial of Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna in St Petersburg in 2006.
Together, Prince and Princess Michael have represented The Queen at Independence celebrations in Belize and at the coronation of King Mswati II of Swaziland.
Biography
Prince Michael of Kent is the younger brother of The Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra. Their father, Prince George, was the fourth son of George V and the brother of George VI, The Queen's father.
After leaving school, Prince Michael attended the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and has since had a long military career, including service in Germany, Hong Kong and Cyprus. He now runs his own private consultancy business.
Connected to Russia through his maternal grandmother, Prince Michael has a strong interest in the country, and became the first member of the Royal Family to learn Russian, ultimately qualifying as a Russian interpreter. Prince Michael is Patron of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce; Founder Patron of the Pan-European Genesis Initiative, which represents the interests of small and medium enterprises throughout the European Union; and also undertakes much charity work in Russia, including having set up The Prince Michael of Kent Foundation.
Princess Michael of Kent
In 1978, Prince Michael married Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz in Vienna. Owner of a London-based interior design company, she has since become an international lecturer on topics of history and art, and has written a number of historical books. She is President of Partridge Fine Art in Bond Street, and is a lover of animals, including horses, dogs, and her Siamese and Burmese cats.
Prince and Princess Michael have two children. Lord Frederick Windsor is a private banker and married to the actress Sophie Winkleman, and they have two daughters, Maud Elizabeth Daphne Marina and Isabella Alexandra May. Lady Gabriella Windsor has a career in writing, having studied Comparative Literature and Hispanic Studies at Brown University in the USA and Social Anthropology at Oxford.
In 2013, the year of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent also celebrated their 35th Wedding Anniversary.
You can find more information about the Prince and Princess on their own websites by using the following links:
