Thursday, June 16, 2022

Prince and Princess Michael to retire from royal life

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 Prince and Princess Michael of Kent are expected to announce their retirement from royal life, according to an inclusive report by the Daily Telegraph's Camilla Tominey.

The announcement is expected to be made within a few weeks, perhaps in connection with Michael's 80th birthday on July 4.

The Prince is the youngest child of the late Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark.  He has two older siblings,  Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy.

Tominey gets it wrong when she writes that Michael has a lineage to Nicholas II.  That would be a no, Camilla  Michael, a fluent Russian speaker, has Romanov ancestry through his mother, Princess Marina, whose mother was Grand Duchess Helen Vladimirovna of Russia.  Grand Duchess Helen was a first cousin of Tsar Nicholas II, who has no living descendants. He and his wife and their five children were murdered by the Bolsheviks in July 1918.

Michael was never expected to undertake official duties as he was the younger son of the late Duke of Kent.  He was in the same position as Prince Richard of Gloucester,  a trained architect, who had to give up his career when his older brother, Prince William, was killed in a plane crash in August 1972.   The death of William, and two years later, the death of the Duke of Gloucester, meant that Richard and his wife, Birgitte, would become working royals.

Although the prince and his wife have never been "working royals",  they have occasionally represented Queen Elizabeth II.  Michael has represented the Queen at state funerals in India, Cyprus, and Swaziland.  He and his wife were the Queen's official representatives at Belize's independence celebrations in September 1981 and at the coronation of King Mswati III of Swaziland in 1986 

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More recently, Prince Michael represented the Queen at The 150th Anniversary of the Crimean War in the Ukraine celebration in September 2004.

Prince Michael married Silesian Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz in June 1978.  They have two children,  Lord Frederick Windsor and Lady Gabriella Kingston.

It is understood that Prince Michael and his wife have been battling health issues.  Princess Michael is still recovering from Long Covid.


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http://www.princemichael.org.uk/

https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/working-royals-harry-meghan-history-what-might-happen-next-careers-jobs-work-queen-money/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2022/06/16/prince-princess-michael-kent-retire-public-life/

6 comments:

Allen said...

This does not come as a surprise given their recent appearance at the Service of Thanksgiving. I was shocked how the two had suddenly and dramatically aged but long Covid is indeed a serious illness. Sad that their generation of the royal family is fading out of the spotlight.

Brynne Roff said...

Do you think it has anything to do with the Russian money issue? It flared briefly and then was just squashed.

Christina O. said...

This somewhat comes as a surprise to me after seeing Prince and Princess Michael attending recent royal events surrounding the Jubilee and Ascot. I wonder if similar announcements will be forthcoming regarding Prince Edward and Princess Alexandra?

Alexander said...

Passage of Time

As Prince and Princess Michael retire from public life, Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway celebrates her 18th birthday and starts her public life.

It begins this evening with a banquet and many royal guests from many countries in attendance. It was interesting to see on the guest list that several of the royals were bringing their children with them. But it occurred to me that this would have been a wonderful opportunity for the young royals of many countries to meet. They never have a chance otherwise.

How nice it would have been if Prince Frederick and Princess Mary of Denmark brought their two elder children, Prince Christian and Princess Isabella, but also their two eligible nephews, Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix. King Felipe of Spain cold have brought his two daughters, but also his two nephews Juan and Pablo Urdangarin. Prince Pavlos and Princess Marie Chantal of Greece could have brought not only their daughter, but their two elder sons, Prince Constantine and Prince Achilles. The English never come, but how nice it would have been if Prince William and Princess Katherine had come and brought their three cousins/nephews, the three grandsons of Princess Margaret - Charles and Sam and Arthur. Prince Gabriel of Belgium could have accompanied his mother. Princess Ingrid could have spent her birthday surrounded by a dozen very handsome, eligible young men of her age, rather than a much older crowd. And the Dutch princess, the Swedish, the two Spanish, the three Behn girls, the Danish princess, and the Greek princess could all have enjoyed the evening with the boys as well.

Marlene Eilers Koenig said...

Christina, the official announcement regarding the Michaels is presumed to come around his 80th birthday. They are not working royals so there may be more to the story.

Marlene Eilers Koenig said...

Alexander,

One does not bring people to such events. One is invited. Her name is Catherine, not Katherine. Princess Margaret's children are not royal, one serves in the military. Ingrid Alexandra is 18, this was not an arranged marriage party.

Princess Margaret's grandchildren are William's second cousins, not nephews. Cristina's children are not royal. If you are referring to Olympia of Greece, she in a relationship as is Nikolai of Denmark.