When Princess Michael of Kent attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey in 2022, her presence was a reminder of a unique and often turbulent royal relationship. Her entry into the family nearly five decades ago required the late Queen's personal assent, setting the stage for a life of both privilege and controversy.
A Marriage Requiring Royal Permission
The foundation of Princess Michael's royal status was unconventional. In 1978, Prince Michael of Kent sought permission from his cousin, Queen Elizabeth II, to marry Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz. The request was necessary because the Baroness was both a Roman Catholic and a divorcee, having finalised her divorce from her first husband, English banker Thomas Troubridge, just two weeks prior to the Vienna Town Hall wedding.
To lobby the monarch, Prince Michael enlisted the help of Lord Mountbatten of Burma, a respected figure and uncle to Prince Philip. Mountbatten emphasised the Baroness's impressive noble lineage, tracing her ancestry back to Charlemagne. The Queen's legendary and pithy response to this genealogical briefing was: 'Too grand for us.' Her assent was granted on one significant condition: Prince Michael had to forfeit his place in the line of succession to the throne.
Controversy and the 'Princess Pushy' Label
Over her 48 years as a royal family member, Princess Michael has frequently found herself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. She earned the derisive nickname 'Princess Pushy'—allegedly coined by Princess Anne—and was compared to the extravagant French Queen, Marie Antoinette. Critics accused her of being 'more royal than the Royals'.
Defying the late Queen's mantra of 'never complain, never explain,' she went on the offensive in a 2000 interview. She claimed, 'The fact is, of those who married into the family since Prince Philip, I had more royal blood. It's just a genealogical thing, a fact of life.' She also clarified the 'too grand' remark, explaining that Mountbatten had repeated the Queen's amusing aside, which was then used against her.
Major Scandals and Family Tensions
The princess's relationship with the family was severely damaged in 2005. While attempting to sell her £6 million Gloucestershire manor, Nether Lypiatt, she made a series of explosive remarks to an undercover News of the World reporter posing as a potential buyer.
In a secretly recorded conversation, she made deeply unflattering comments about senior royals:
- She accused the then-Prince Charles of using Diana as a 'convenient womb' to produce an heir.
- She described Princess Diana as 'bitter', 'nasty' and 'strange'.
- She confided that Prince Charles would never hand over the throne to Prince William.
- She predicted Camilla would become Queen, contradicting official Buckingham Palace guidance at the time.
This incident forced her to issue a formal apology to Queen Elizabeth II.
Antipathy towards her also came from within the family. The late Princess Margaret reportedly held a 'strong dislike' for her, viewing her as a 'limelight-seeking adventuress.' Their frosty dynamic was evident during a carriage procession at Ascot, where Margaret responded to Princess Michael's attempts at conversation with little more than grunts. Margaret's son, Lord Linley, once joked that a suitable Christmas gift for his worst enemy would be 'dinner for two with Princess Michael.'
Despite the controversies, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent's union has endured, producing two children—Lord Freddie Windsor, 46, and Lady Gabriella Kingston, 44. As she celebrates her 81st birthday, her story remains a compelling chapter in the modern history of the British Royal Family, marked by ancient lineage, personal ambition, and recurrent scandal.
