Prince Michael of Kent is a member of the British Royal Family. Elizabeth II is his cousin. An interesting fact is that the prince is the great-nephew of Nicholas II himself. And Michael of Kent received his name in honor of the Russian prince Mikhail Alexandrovich. The prince was the younger brother of Nicholas II and the cousin of the grandparents of the prince.
The prince, like most of the members of the great family, is very noble and still does not forget about his roots. He often visits Russia, plays a certain role in the cultural life of our country.
Biography and personal life of the Prince
Michael of Kent was born on July 4, 1942 to the Duke of Kent and Princess Marina. Unfortunately, Michael failed to remember his father, who died in a car accident when the boy was only one and a half months old. The prince also has a brother, Edward, and a sister, Alexandra. By the way, US President Franklin Roosevelt became Michael's godfather, since the boy was born on the Independence Day of the United States.
Michael entered the military academySandhurst and received a military translator diploma. The prince speaks good Russian, albeit with a large accent. As Michael of Kent himself admits, his Russian becomes much better when he communicates with Russian-speaking people for a long time.
In 1978, the prince married a Catholic, Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz, already divorced at that time. Since, according to royal laws, marriages with Catholics were prohibited, the ceremony took place in Vienna. Because of this union, the Prince lost the right to inherit the throne, but in 2013 this ban was lifted, and the prince again returned to the succession (in the list he ranks 43rd in line).
In his marriage to the Baroness, the prince had two children: Lord Frederick and Lady Gabriella Windsor.
The story of the emergence of a new dynasty
Interestingly, the Windsor dynasty is relatively young. It appeared during the First World War, when German troops approached England and reached almost the very center of powerful Britain - Albion. At one point, the people, tired of hostilities and constant bombing, began to panic and resent. The fact is that King George of England had a mixture of German and Danish blood. And his grandmother, Queen Victoria, belonged to the Hanoverian dynasty. All this aggravated the situation, so it was decided to rename the English dynasty.
In the photo in the article there is a personal coat of arms of the British dynasty, which the family received after the renaming.
Namedynasty was invented by Lord Stamfordham, who was the king's personal secretary. The king had a summer residence - Windsor Castle. This name sounded very English and should have been safely reflected in the dynastic surname. The decision was made - in 1917 a law was passed that stated that the royal dynasty was renamed the Windsors, and the name "Saxe-Coburg-Gotha" went into oblivion. The decision of the king improved the situation in England, and the differences between the people and the monarchs were settled. And the dynasty has its own new personal coat of arms, which can be seen in the photo in this article.
Windsor Charity
Prince Michael of Kent is a well-known face in the world of philanthropy. He conducts his extensive activities in many non-profit organizations related to various areas of business. The Prince of Kent occupies a special role and position in Russia. In 2004, he founded the "Prince Michael of Kent Charitable Foundation", which finances social and cultural events: he alth care, education, historical and cultural heritage of the country.
Among his merits are:
- help the Moscow hospital them. Speransky for the treatment of children with burn injuries;
- is the sponsor of the student exchange project between Oxford Business School and Plekhanov University;
- finances the Nochlezhka program in St. Petersburg.
Michael of Kent is patronorganizations such as the Russian National Orchestra, the London School of Business and Finance, and the British Educational Center in Russia. In addition, Michael is considered an honorary doctor of the Russian Academy of Economics. Plekhanov.
The Prince of Kent and a successful businessman
Michael of Kent is a big businessman. His business activities are focused on:
- construction;
- telecommunications;
- insurance;
- finance and tourism;
- medical, aviation and automotive industries.
Since the businessman is fluent in French, German and Italian, he often leads delegations of English businessmen, in particular in Eastern European countries and China.
By the way, Michael is a patron of the Genesis Initiative, so he is also actively involved in promoting small business export activities.
