Princess Michael of Kent reveals how she ‘terrorises’ husband

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Princess Michael of Kent, born Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz, has been described as one of the Royal Family’s most controversial members. The princess is married to the late Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, and is herself descended from Austrian royalty. Over the years, she has become known not only for her glamour but her outspokenness which, occasionally, has landed her in hot water with certain members of the Firm.

Princess Anne

The moniker ‘Princess Pushy’ was reportedly given to Princess Michael by the late Queen’s only daughter, Princess Anne.

The 2020 Channel 5 documentary, Princess Michael: The Controversial Royal, claimed that the sobriquet quickly stuck and was “picked up on by others”.

Anne supposedly deemed Princess Michael as difficult, and royal expert Bidisha Mamata claimed the Princess Royal, who was 28 when her mother’s cousin married Marie, was the first one to call her ‘Princess Pushy’.

Meanwhile, in the Channel 5 documentary, Royals at War, Queen Elizabeth’s former press secretary Dickie Arbiter claimed the nickname came about from Marie’s tendency to be “very assertive”.

Princess Michael tackled the nickname in an interview with The Telegraph in 2000, when she said: “It comes up all the time but nobody has ever given an incident of where I have pushed.

“We’re not very social. We don’t go out that much. But they had to put a handle on me. I guess someone said: ‘She pushed her way into this family.’ I didn’t. I held out for years, refusing to marry.”

That said, Marie has garnered a reputation that arguably upholds the cheeky moniker.

Ms Mamata said: “She did what she wanted when she wanted, and as a result, the rest of the royals began calling her the pushy princess because she wanted things her way.”

While Julie Montagu, Viscountess Hinchingbrooke, added: “It was all on her timetable, not anybody else’s. So, she was very, very well known for turning up when she wanted to — definitely not on time — but also making demands. She kind of works, and still does, to her own agenda.”

In fact, even before Prince and Princess Michael married, in 1978, the pair had been at the centre of controversy.

The Prince, who at the time of his engagement was 15th in line to the throne, had to give up his place in the order of succession to marry German divorcée Marie, a Catholic. Though, years later, his place was reinstated.

However, the ordeal also caused drama within the family, with some royals unhappy with the allowance made for the Queen’s cousin.

Princess Margaret

According to Channel 5’s Princess Michael: The Controversial Royal, Princess Margaret refused to speak to Baroness Marie.

It was Marie’s Roman Catholicism that Margaret could not face, a fact made ironic given the Princess’s flirtation with Catholicism later in life after striking up a close friendship with a Catholic priest, Derek ‘Dazzle’ Jennings, in 1981. However, she never publicly converted.

The late Queen’s sister was also reportedly “furious” that a foreign-born divorcee had been allowed to marry into the Royal Family, especially after her union with divorced RAF officer Peter Townsend had been prevented years earlier.

Speaking of Prince Michael’s marriage to Marie-Christine, Viscountess Hitchingbrooke said: “You can imagine this did not go down well with Princess Margaret, who was told by her own sister, Queen Elizabeth, that she couldn’t marry a divorcee. In fact, she was said to be furious.”

Prince and Princess Michael married in a civil ceremony in Vienna just a month after the annulment of the bride’s first marriage. They received Pope John Paul II’s permission to marry and had a Roman Catholic ceremony on 29 June 1983 at Archbishop House.

Margaret, however, did not marry Townsend, whom she had fallen in love with while he was working in the Royal Household.

Princess Margaret

According to Channel 5’s Princess Michael: The Controversial Royal, Princess Margaret refused to speak to Baroness Marie.

It was Marie’s Roman Catholicism that Margaret could not content with, a fact later made ironic given the Princess’s flirtation with Catholicism later in life after striking up a close friendship with a Catholic priest named Derek ‘Dazzle’ Jennings in 1981. However, she never publicly converted.

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Although the Princess was permitted to marry the former equerry upon her 25th birthday, when the time came, Margaret chose not to wed.

Instead, in 1960, she married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, and the pair made their marital home in Kensington Palace, also the residence of the Kents.

Prince and Princess Michael’s living arrangements came under scrutiny in 2002 when it was revealed Queen Elizabeth had provided them with rent-free living space in Kensington Palace, despite their lack of official duties.

Consequently, the monarch began paying the rent for the apartment out of her personal funds, but by 2010, following intense public backlash, the Prince and Princess reportedly made an agreement to handle the payments themselves.

Despite their privileged royal lives, the Kents were seemingly always short of cash, a perception that earned the couple another ridiculing nickname.

King Charles III and Princess Diana

In 1985, Princess Michael opened a branch of the Happy Eater roadside café chain on the A3 near Guildford.

During the visit, Marie quipped: “’I’d go anywhere for a hot meal,” a remark picked up on by then-Prince Charles, who reportedly gave her and her husband the nickname “Rent-A-Kents”.

And Princess Michael had her own harsh words for the now King.

During a conversation with the ‘fake sheikh’ — an undercover reporter who tricked famous figures into divulging private information — she alleged that King Charles III was bitter about his first wife’s notoriety.

Royal author Katie Nicholl explained: “Princess Michael of Kent described Diana as ‘nasty’ and ‘bitter’. She alleged that Charles was jealous of his wife’s fame.”

The hard feelings between Princess Michael and Diana, Princess of Wales were mutual, with Marie making her dislike of the ‘People’s Princess’ clear.

Royals at War delved into the tense relationship between the pair, with Diana’s former security officer Ken Wharfe saying: “I didn’t think her relationship with the Royal Family was particularly friendly, there was an air of snobbery about her.”

He also spoke about Diana’s nickname for the Princess, explaining she “used to refer to her as the U-Boat Commander, it was really common knowledge”.

In recent years, both Prince and Princess Michael have led relatively low-profile lives, occasionally making public appearances and only attending the biggest royal events.

In 2022, it was reported that the pair would be retiring on Prince Michael’s 80th birthday, July 4.

Now, the couple is closing their business, Cantium Services, of which Prince Michael owns more than 75 per cent, and of which he and Princess Michael, 78, are the only directors. It was founded in 1978 — the year they married.

Writing for the Daily Mail, Richard Eden said it marks “the end of an era for the ‘Rent-A-Kents’”.

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