10 Interesting Facts about Princess Michael of Kent

Princess Michael of Kent. Image: Daily Mail

Today, Princess Michael of Kent celebrates her 69thbirthday. She endures the reputation of being one of the most colorful and controversial figures of the British Royal Family. As we celebrate her 69th year, let’s take a look at the 10 interesting facts that make Princess Michael a larger-than-life figure. 

1. Princess Michael is married to Prince Michael of Kent, the youngest son of Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece. 

2. Michael is not her name. It's Marie-Christine. In Great Britain, wives of the nobility and members of the royal family take the feminine form of their husband's title. Since her husband does not hold a title of nobility, like her brother in law the Duke of Kent, Marie-Christine, therefore, is styled HRH Princess Michael of Kent, the feminine form of her husband’s name. 

3. Princess Michael stands 6 ft tall, making her the tallest member of the British Royal Family, excluding male members, of course. 

4. Princess Michael has authored four books: Crowned in a Far Country, Cupid and the King, The Serpent and The Moon: two rivals for the love of a Renaissance king, and The Queen Of Four Kingdoms.

5. Princess Michael was born Baroness Marie Christine Anna Agnes Hedwig Ida.

6. Princess Michael hails from an illustrious background of Bohemian (Czech) and Hungarian nobility. Her father was Baron Günther Hubertus von Reibnitz a cavalry officer of the German Empire during the First World War. Her mother was Countess Maria Anna Carolina Franziska Walpurga Bernadette Szapáry, a member of the Hungarian nobility. From her mother’s side, she is the grand-daughter of Princess Hedwig von Windisch-Graetz. Her maternal grandfather, Count Friedrich Szapáry von Muraszombath, Széchysziget und Szapár, was a diplomat, who served as the ambassador of Austria-Hungary in Saint Petersburg at the start of World War I.

7. Princess Michael is a working royal. She is an author, a lecturer, an art connoisseur at Galerie Gmurzynska in Switzerland, and runs her own interior design company.

8. Princess Michael's first husband was the English banker Thomas Troubridge, the younger brother of Sir Peter Troubridge, 6th Baronet.

9. Princess Michael was the first divorcee, after Wallis Simpson, to marry into the royal family. However, given Prince Michael's distance from the throne, their marriage did not cause much uproar.

10. Princess claims descent from Diane de Poitiers, mistress of Henry II of France,  his wife Catherine de' Medici, and also from Peter Paul Rubens, the famous painter.

Royal Events this Week - January 12-18, 2014

Check out this week's royal events that you should never miss!

Princess Astrid and Johan Martine Ferner during their wedding. Image: Pinterest.

 January 12 - Princess Astrid of Norway and Johan Martine Ferner celebrate their 53rd wedding anniversary. Princess Astrid is the second daughter of King Olav V of Norway and his wife, Princess Märtha of Sweden.

Princess Michael of Kent. Image: Wikipedia

January 15 - Princess Michael of Kent celebrates her 69th birthday. She was born Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz and is married to Prince Michael of Kent, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.

Inaki Urdangarin. Image: Wikipedia

January 15 -  Iñaki Urdangarin y Liebaert, husband of Infanta Cristina of Spain, celebrates her 46th birthday.

Princess Claire of Belgium. Image: Zimbio

January 18 - Princess Claire of Belgium celebrates her 40th birthday. She was born Claire Coombs and is married to Prince Laurent of Belgium.

Royal Living: A Visit at Nether Lypiatt, Princess Michael’s Fabulous Gloucestershire Home

Nether Lypiatt Manor, the former country home of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent in Gloucestershire.

I've always been a fan of Princess Michael of Kent. Her sense of style, intelligence and courage to speak her mind out make her a royal standout. As an interior decorator and lover of everything beautiful, Nether Lypiatt Manor, which has been described as a compact, neo-Classical manor house situated in the parish of Thrupp, near Stroud in Gloucestershire, has been the recipient of her clever taste.

James Lees-Milne thought the house was really perfect. He wanted to purchase the house in the 1950s but couldn’t afford it.  In his words, it was "perfect in every way."

Christopher Hussey described it as "singularly beautiful."

Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, author of English Manor Houses, called the house "a most covetable example of that delectable 'doll's house' style,” thanks to its “gentlemanly, well-mannered” design, a profusion of “Dutch and Classical influences” which was popular during Queen Anne’s reign. Indeed, “it's comfortable, relaxing; nothing too flashy or clever."

The staircase.

The everyday entrance hall of Nether Lypiatt Manor. Cecil Aldin prints hang over 
the paraphernalia of a country life.

The Ludwigsburg china at Nether Lypiatt Manor is presented as a decoration 
wall display in the dining room.

The house was built between 1702 and 1705 for Judge John Coxe, who was notorious for hanging convicted felons. Ironically, one of the rooms witnessed Judge Cox's son hang. To this day, his restless ghost was reportedly seen roaming around the house. But aside from his son, Judge Coxe’s prized stallion and blacksmith also pay their visit. As their death anniversaries approach every January, they would be seen entering through the main gates to the grounds of the property.

Minus the ghost, Nether Lypiatt is famous for its grandiose William and Mary staircase. A wing was added in 1923, making way for the house’s look today, a perfect square of 46 feet (14 m) on each side made more charming with sash windows, towering chimneys, hipped roofs and gate piers and railings. The house has been declared a Grade-I listed building. Such is the quaintness of the house that architectural historian Mark Girouard praised it for perfectly exemplifying the miniature look of an 18th century formal house. The house has four floors, four reception rooms, a studio, four bathrooms, two dressing rooms and staff quarters, including a tall basement and an attic floor. The early eighteenth-century paneling and original stone fireplaces survives to this day.  The house sits on 20 acres of grounds, which saw gradual improvements through the years as new gardens have been planted, including a renovated traditional flower garden to match with the authentic original arts and crafts backbone of vistas and hedges.

The panelled drawing room.

The sitting room, panelled in beech.

The yellow drawing room.  The immense scagiola table
was made in Florence just for Prince Michael.

With the passing of Judge Cox, Nether Lypiatt has been passed on to several generations of Coxes and other families. In 1914, it was sold to Corbett Woodall, who modernized and improved the house, with the help of Architect Peter Morley Horder. Bathrooms have been installed and an avenue of limes has been planted south of the house. Nine years later, Gordon and Violet Woodhouse purchased the house who left their own imprint by extending the house with the addition of the north-west pavilion, as well as improving the interior.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent had fallen in love with Nether Lypiatt Manor and had longed to purchase it although when it came up for sale, they were initially discouraged by the high asking price, considering that the house needed a lot of fixing.

Rumors of ghost haunting dejected any chances of getting purchased at a high price. When the asking price was lowered to £300,000, the couple was quick to buy, thus, the county was called "Royal Gloucestershire", thanks to the number of Royal Family members living in the area. Not far away is Queen Mary’s World War II home, Badminton, Princess Anne’s country residence, Gatcombe Park, and Prince Charles own Highgrove.

Of the hauntings, Princess Michael retorted: "I have no doubt that many old houses have some kind of spirit presence or ghost and, if Nether Lypiatt Manor has such, he, she or it, must be benign and well disposed.

"We as a family, our guests and our pets have always felt a welcome from the house from the day we arrived, and have been extremely happy living here."

A Queen Anne bed upholstered in white
embroidered satin and dark blue plush.

Princess Michael's desk.

Woodhouse bedroom

While Princess Michael really loved Nether Lypiatt, her failing fortune and the need to downsize, eventually forced her to sell the manor house. The house was originally up for sale at £6 million, although it was eventually lowered to £5.5 million. The house was purchased by Labour Life Peer Lord Drayson for £5.75 million in 2006.