Prince Michael of Kent Turns 71

July 4th, 2013

Prince Michael of Kent celebrated his 71st birthday on July 4th. The Prince, who is a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, was born at Coppins, Iver in Buckinghamshire in 1942.

His father was Prince George, Duke of Kent, the fourth son of George V and Queen Mary, and his mother was Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark. Sadly his father was killed in a tragic plane accident less than six weeks after his birth. Prince Michael has an older brother, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and an older sister, Princess Alexandra of Kent.

At the age of five, Prince Michael was a page boy at the wedding of his cousin, the future Queen Elizabeth, and Duke of Edinburgh. Prince Michael was educated at Sunningdale School and Eton College, and later entered the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

In 1978, he married the Austro-Hungarian Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz. As Prince Michael married a Roman Catholic, he lost his place in the line of succession to the British throne. The couple have two children, Lord Frederick Windsor and Lady Gabriella Windsor.

Later this summer, Prince and Princess Michael are set to welcome their first grandchild, as Lord and Lady Frederick are expecting their first child in August.

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged Biography, Birthday, Prince Michael of Kent.

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