Domingo 19.6.2022
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Last update – 8:48
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When he was born, he was seventh in line to the throne, as the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II’s uncles, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent and Prince George, Duke of Kent. Today, however, Prince Michael of Kent has slipped far down the royal rankings, ranking as low as 52nd.
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Despite this, like his older brothers Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Princess Alexandra of Kent, he has often represented the Queen on official royal duties, particularly when it came to Russia, a particular interest. to him (he even bears an uncanny resemblance to his royal ancestor, Tsar Nicholas II).
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With Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, the prince was forced to sever ties with the country, including relinquishing patronage of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce, and returning an award from the Order of friendship.
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With her 80th birthday coming up next month, she must feel it’s time to retire from royal duties, an announcement to that effect is reportedly to be made in the coming days, according to The Telegraph. His wife, Princess Michael, 77, is expected to follow his example.
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Prince Michael was born during World War II on July 4, 1942. His father, Prince George, Duke of Kent, was an RAF officer and was killed in action just seven weeks after the birth of his youngest son. One of his first memorable appearances in royalty was as a page at the wedding of his cousin, then-Princess Elizabeth, to the Duke of Edinburgh.
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Unlike his older brothers, he does not receive a parliamentary allowance or income for his work on behalf of the queen, as he is technically classified as a non-working royal, despite carrying out up to 200 engagements on her behalf. year. He was granted the use of a pardon apartment at Kensington Palace, but a series of critical posts for living in one of his rooms without paying rent prompted a change and he had to start paying for it in 2012.
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He married 44-year-old German aristocrat Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz in a Catholic ceremony in Vienna in 1978. Due to his religion, Prince Michael was removed from the line of succession, but was reinstated when the law was changed in 2015. The couple have two children together, Lord Frederick Windsor and Lady Gabriella Windsor, as well as two grandchildren, Maud and Isabella, through their son.
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His long royal career has not always run smoothly. She has been the subject of some controversy surrounding her relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. In 2021, he found out about it on a Zoom call promising to sell her access.
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Accusations of racism have also been made against his wife, such as when in 2017 she wore the ‘blackamoor’ brooch to a Christmas lunch with Meghan Markle, then Prince Harry’s fiancée. At the time, a spokesman said the princess ‘[estaba] very sorry and afflicted for having caused offense.’
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