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How, out of love for the "Windsor impudent" Russian-British prince, give up the throne: Michael of Kent
How, out of love for the "Windsor impudent" Russian-British prince, give up the throne: Michael of Kent

Video: How, out of love for the "Windsor impudent" Russian-British prince, give up the throne: Michael of Kent

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Prince Michael of Kent is an ambiguous figure. At home, they avoid mentioning him in a positive way. The prince never concealed his sympathy for Russia, just as he was never inclined to observe the piety befitting a member of the British royal family. It seems that it all began at a time when he first went against the rules and got permission from the queen for his scandalous marriage with a divorced representative of another faith.

Love without convention

Prince Michael of Kent
Prince Michael of Kent

About Maria Christine von Reibniz, Western media often say that more royal blood flows in her veins than many representatives of the royal family, meaning her extreme arrogance and bragging about her origin. However, Prince Michael of Kent had no right to marry this woman in 1978, despite all his ardent love for her.

According to unverified reports, Michael of Kent met Marie-Christine at the house of her first husband, the English banker Thomas Trowbridge. For him, 26-year-old Maria Christina married back in 1971, but two years later this marriage broke up, but the spouses were in no hurry to formalize their divorce. The need for this arose only at the moment when Michael of Kent proposed to his chosen one. Despite their long acquaintance, the rapprochement between Marie Christine and Michael of Kent happened at a time when Maria's marriage was long in the past.

Maria Christina von Reibniz
Maria Christina von Reibniz

Michael of Kent and Marie-Christine were willing to do anything to create their own family. Mary achieved the official annulment of her marriage in the Roman Catholic Church, and Michael of Kent, who at that time occupied the 15th line in the line of heirs to the throne, never cherished hopes of governing the country. Therefore, he easily abandoned the right of inheritance, making a choice in favor of his love.

Prince Michael of Kent and his wife on their wedding day in 1978
Prince Michael of Kent and his wife on their wedding day in 1978

By the way, everything could be much easier if the chosen one of the prince renounced her Catholic faith and moved to the Church of England, to which her future husband belonged. But Marie-Christine was not in the mood to change the faith of her ancestors, and therefore Michael had to lose his dynastic status.

On June 30, 1978, the official wedding ceremony of Prince Michael of Kent and Marie-Christine Traubridge (née von Reibniz) took place, and they got married five years later. The title of the prince's wife after marriage began to sound like, the female version of the husband's title, since she is not a princess by birth.

Happy marriage and scandalous deeds

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
Prince and Princess Michael of Kent

They have been together for more than 40 years and during all this time they have not given the public a reason to doubt the strength of their union. In 1979, the firstborn of the spouses, Lord Frederick Windsor, was born, and two years later their daughter, Lady Gabriella Windsor, was born. The children of Michael of Kent are entitled to the British throne, and the prince himself, after changing the Succession Act in 2013, regained his dynastic status, taking 48th place in the list of heirs.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent with children
Prince and Princess Michael of Kent with children

The family life of a married couple seems calm and cloudless, which cannot be said about their social activities. Michael of Kent and his wife often become heroes of the scandalous chronicle due to their straightforwardness. The prince is constantly accused of excessive love for Russia, which, however, he never concealed. Since 1992, he has paid more than 50 visits to our country, where he has his own business interests, and about 16 organizations, both charitable and financial, are under his patronage.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
Prince and Princess Michael of Kent

In 2018, the prince became the cause of a scandal that broke out by visiting Moscow shortly after the incident with Sergei Skripal. After that, British publications had a reason to write that the prince is respected only in Russia, and not at all in his homeland. Raises questions to the prince and his communication with Boris Berezovsky, who, according to unverified information, even provided financial support to Michael of Kent.

The biggest scandal erupted in May 2021, when The Sunday Times and Channel 4 reporters impersonated a private company and spoke via video link with the Prince and his friend the Marquis of Reading. During the call, the Marquis made very ambiguous statements about the prince's unofficial status as "Her Majesty's Ambassador to Russia" and Michael of Kent's ability to "facilitate" the acquaintance of private business representatives with key figures in the Kremlin.

Prince Michael of Kent
Prince Michael of Kent

The prince himself spoke about his rather warm relations with Vladimir Putin and assured him of the possibility of being useful in organizing business cooperation of a commercial structure with representatives of the authorities in Russia. Naturally, when journalists, after the details of this call were made public, demanded official comments, the Prince of Kent and the Marquis of Reading denied everything that had been said earlier.

Princess Michael of Kent and her brooch
Princess Michael of Kent and her brooch

But the heroine of the scandalous chronicle is not only Michael of Kent, but also his wife. She repeatedly allowed herself to make racist statements, and in 2017 she was forced to make an official apology after appearing at the Queen's dinner with a brooch in the form of a black man figurine. The journalists did not at all consider it a coincidence that the future wife of Prince Harry Meghan Markle was present at the same dinner.

However, Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent is capable of the most extravagant antics, so it was clear to everyone: the apology was made only for show, and the words that Marie-Christine did not want to offend anyone were absolutely worthless. It is not for nothing that the nickname "Windsor impudent" stuck to her. However, public opinion touches her least of all.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
Prince and Princess Michael of Kent

One gets the impression that all the scandals and unrest, ambiguous statements and journalistic investigations do not interfere with the family life of the spouses. It seems that for them “the most important thing is the weather at home,” and not outside.

Perhaps it was about the wife of Prince Michael of Kets that they talked about some time ago. the Dukes of Sussex in their interview with Oprah Winfrey, when talked about the racist statements of one of the representatives of the British royal family?

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