The “uncomfortable” relatives of the royal family are retiring. In fact, it seems that, at the end of his eightieth birthday, next July 4th, the prince Michael of Kent, the queen’s first cousin Elizabeth II, will officially leave public life. And his seventy-seven-year-old wife will step back with him, María Cristina Inés Eduvigis Ida of Reibnitz, better known as Princess Michael of Kent, called “pushy” for its overly haughty manner.
A decision, that of “retiring”, which according to the Daily Mail it will be officially announced in the next few days. And that will make many in Buckingham Palace breathe a sigh of relief. Why the Prince and Princess of Kent – married since 197 and parents of two children (Lord Frederick And lady Gabriella) in their long and turbulent life they have drawn upon them accusations of racism, criticism of the close relationship with Russia and even controversy over the rent of their fabulous apartment.
Prince Michael of Kent is the son of George, Duke of Kent and Navy of Greece and therefore grandson of King George V. He is currently 52nd in line of succession to the throne of the United Kingdom and, according to the official website of the royal family, is classified as a ‘non-working royal’, he therefore has no obligations to court, even though he has represented Queen Elizabeth in the past. He finances his lifestyle by working as a business consultant and running his own business, Cantium Services. Often seen alongside the Queen at family events, Michael of Kent has always shown a strong interest in Russian culture (and politics). The resemblance to Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, who was the first cousin of three of his grandparents, is striking. When the mortal remains of the Russian imperial family, found after more than eighty years of research, were buried with full honors in the imperial palace chapel, it was Michael who represented the United Kingdom in that ceremony. The Queen’s cousin was also made an honorary member of the Romanov Family Association. Really, in the dystopian novel Icon writer Frederick Forsyth envisions the restoration of the monarchy in Russia with Michael as Tsar at the head.
Fiction aside, the Queen’s cousin’s such close relations with Russia created a notable embarrassment at Buckingham Palace following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the horrors perpetrated by the Russian army. So much so that Prince Michael he resigned from the post of patron of the Russian-British Chamber of Commerce And returned an Order of Friendship award, one of the highest honors bestowed by Moscow. But in the recent past of the prince there is another very unpleasant story always linked to Russia. About a year ago he was framed by hidden cameras as he said he was willing to use his status as a member of the royal family and his relations with Vladimir Putin’s entourage to help some companies to enter the Russian market. In exchange for money, of course.
But all these years it wasn’t just Prince Michael of Kent who created turmoil and embarrassment in the royal family. Even the wife has put some of her, with repeated gaffe. The most famous of her dates back to Christmas 2017, during the lunch that Elizabeth II celebrates every year in Sandringham with her whole family. That day, for the first time, there was also in the Queen’s Scottish estate Meghan Markle. And María Cristina showed up with a gold brooch representing the bust of a black man: a piece of the sixteenth century called Blackamoor, originally from Venice, interpreted by all as a racist message to Harry’s African-American girlfriend. The princess denied, apologized, said to herself “shocked for having offended Meghan.” But the damage was now done.
It was not the first time that the princess was at the center of a racist controversy. In the 2004in a restaurant from the West Village in New York, he told a group of black customersin his opinion too noisy, of “Go back to the colonies”. Months later she had tried to make amends with an interview with ITV which instead had the opposite effect: “I once pretended to be AfricanDeclared the fearless von Reibnitz. “I even dyed my hair black. But with my blue eyes, I couldn’t“. And again: «I wanted to be a writer, travel on African buses, from Cape Town to Mozambique. I lived this adventure with these special people, absolutely adorable. Don’t call me a racist, she’s a stab in the heart. I really love these people. ” She loves them so much that according to a relative she would have renamed the two black sheep which he held at Kensington Palace with the names of Venus and Serena, like the famous tennis sisters.
To all this are added several economic scandals which concerned Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. For example what concerns theirs Kensington Palace apartments, a magnificent 17th century royal residence. The couple took up residence there in 1979, immediately after their marriage, occupying the patronal house which, among other things, it boasts five reading rooms and five reception rooms. In 2008 it was discovered that the two for all those years had paid a paltry rent: 70 pounds per week (about 81 euros). A ridiculous price for Kensington Palace. Since then, the rent for the queen’s “uncomfortable” relatives has been raised to 10,000 pounds a month, almost 12,000 euros.
Other stories of Vanity Fair that may interest you:
- Princess Michael of Kent, the queen’s “uncomfortable” cousin
- Real fools: the worst blunders of the royal family
- Andrew of York: from “brave prince” to “most hated” of the royal family
Source: Vanity Fair
