37-530: The Prince Michael International Road Safety Award is an annual award presented by Prince Michael of Kent since 1987 for outstanding achievement and innovation in improving road safety globally and is the top international road safety award. The award was originally created in 1987 to give public recognition to those improving road safety throughout Great Britain . The focus has since been expanded to assess road safety achievements, innovations, and improvements world-wide. Each December, Prince Michael has presented
74-478: A British prince with the prefix His Royal Highness and a territorial designation deriving from his father's dukedom: "His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent". A person of honour and high standing in the Efik Eburutu Kingdom ( Efik : Ada Idagha Ke Efik Eburutu ) The ribbons worn regularly by Michael in undress uniform are as follows: Dunbeath air crash The Dunbeath air crash
111-466: A VIP transport mission to RAF Reykjavik , specifically to fly Prince George, Duke of Kent , to Iceland. The aircraft took off from a seaplane base at RAF Invergordon on the Cromarty Firth at 1305 GMT on Sunday 25 August 1942 in fog, which persisted. The Sunderland, flying on instruments, veered off its planned flight path and crashed into the remote Eagle's Rock at 13:42 GMT. Fourteen of
148-601: A United Nations peacekeeping force in 1971. Subsequent tours of duty, during a military career that spanned twenty years, included a number of appointments on the Defence Intelligence Staff . He retired from the Army with the rank of Major in 1981. In 1994, Michael was made Honorary Commodore (later Honorary Rear Admiral and then Vice Admiral) of the Royal Naval Reserve , and in 2002, he
185-566: A civil ceremony, at the City Hall ( Wiener Rathaus ) in Vienna, Austria, the German noblewoman Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz . After receiving Pope John Paul II 's permission (a previous pontiff, Pope Paul VI , had barred them from having a Catholic wedding), the couple later received a blessing of their marriage in a Catholic ceremony on 29 June 1983 at Archbishop's House, London. At
222-665: A sample from Michael for recognition. He attended the 1998 burial of the Tsar and his family in St Petersburg. He is an honorary member of the Romanov Family Association . He is also the second cousin of Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia , who is a claimant to the headship of the Imperial Family of Russia. They share the same great-grandfather, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich . Michael
259-540: A second cousin and first cousin once removed to Charles III . Prince Michael occasionally represented Elizabeth II at some functions in Commonwealth realms outside the United Kingdom during her reign. Otherwise, he manages his own consultancy business and undertakes various commercial work around the world. He has also presented some television documentaries on the royal families of Europe. Prince Michael
296-523: A strong interest in Russia, where he is a well-known figure (he is a former recipient of the Order of Friendship ). Tsar Nicholas II was a first cousin of three of his grandparents: George V, Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia. When the bodies of the Tsar and some of his family were recovered in 1991, the remains were later identified by DNA using, among others,
333-531: Is a member of the British royal family who is 52nd in line to the British throne as of 2024. The younger son of Prince George, Duke of Kent , and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark , he is a grandson of George V , nephew of Edward VIII and George VI , and first cousin of Elizabeth II . Michael's mother was also a first cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , consort of Elizabeth II, making him both
370-530: Is in recognition of the Royal engagements and work for various charities which Prince and Princess Michael of Kent have undertaken at their own expense, and without any public funding." Prince Michael has been scrutinized for financial assistance given to him by exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky through offshore companies, with a reported total of £320,000 in payments over the period 2002–2008. In an interview with The Sunday Times , Berezovsky stated, "There
407-458: Is nothing underhand or improper about the financial assistance I have given Prince Michael. It is a matter between friends." In May 2021, reports were published stating that Michael was "selling access" to Vladimir Putin 's political representatives. Footage from a Zoom call was released of Michael, alongside Simon Isaacs, 4th Marquess of Reading , interacting with undercover reporters posing as business executives seeking to make contacts with
SECTION 10
#1732780714103444-685: Is the patron of organisations which have close ties with Russia, including the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce and the St Gregory's Foundation. In his capacity as patron of Children's Fire and Burns Trust, Prince Michael has led fundraising rallies in 1999 and 2003 in Russia to raise money for the charity. He also led another rally in 2005 and raised money for the Royal Marsden Hospital and Britain's Charities Aid Foundation Russia. On 4 March 2022, Michael returned
481-510: The 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally in an Austin Maxi, but he and his crew failed to finish the event. In 2002, both Michael and his wife were the subject of criticism over the rent paid on their accommodation at Kensington Palace following scrutiny by the House of Commons Public Accounts committee on the cost of royal palaces and whether they were value for money. The committee had called on
518-699: The Kremlin . In the video, he assured the men that his close ties with the country would be of benefit, and that he could introduce them to high-ranking figures within the Russian government in exchange for money. The call took place the day after the European Union imposed sanctions on the Kremlin. Michael was being offered £143,000 for a proposal and £36,000 a month by the faux businessmen, which he expressed satisfaction with. The Marquess claimed that Michael
555-556: The Duke had been at the controls of the plane (the Duke had held a pilot's licence since 1929); that Jack had dragged him from the pilot's seat after the crash; and that there was an additional person on board the plane whose identity has never been revealed. Four of the 228 Squadron crew's remains were interred at Pennyfuir Cemetery in Oban . The Duke of Kent, the first member of a British Royal Family to die on active military service since
592-673: The Global Plan for a Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020) and focuses its selection on achievement and innovation in one of the following areas: Each year His Royal Highness also presents a "Premier Award" to the organization which he considers has had the most impact on road safety. Europe also has an annual Excellence in Road Safety Awards , in Brussels. Prince Michael of Kent Prince Michael of Kent (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942)
629-786: The Kennel Club , Children's Burns Trust, Maritime Volunteer Service , the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships , Life Saving Society , Royal Automobile Club , National Eye Research Centre, Motor Sports Association , Brooklands Museum Trust, the Light Aircraft Association , and the London School of Business and Finance . He announced his retirement from public life in June 2022 as he approached his 80th birthday. On 30 June 1978, Michael married, at
666-636: The Order of Friendship in the aftermath of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . Prince Michael was a part of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst rowing crew that won the Maiden Fours at Bedford in 1961. Prince Michael competed for Great Britain in the 1971 FIBT World Bobsleigh Championships but crashed and failed to finish the event. He was official non-travelling reserve for the 1972 Winter Olympics . He took part in
703-576: The Private Chapel of Windsor Castle , his godparents were his paternal uncle the King ; Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (for whom her son-in-law Prince Bernhard stood proxy); King Haakon VII of Norway (his great-uncle); US President Franklin D. Roosevelt (for whom the Duke of Kent stood proxy); Frederica of Hanover , Hereditary Princess of Greece (his first cousin once removed, who
740-477: The Queen to evict its residents and put the apartments on a more commercial footing. When it was claimed that the couple paid a rent of only £69 per week for the use of their apartments at Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace announced that "The Queen is paying the rent for Prince and Princess Michael of Kent's apartment at a commercial rate of £120,000 annually, from her own private funds. This rent payment by The Queen
777-461: The award to honorees during a Gala Presentation at The Savoy in Westminster . In 2017, the award celebrated 30 years. In recognizing the most outstanding achievements and innovations from all over the world in enhancing road safety for different road users, it has become internationally renowned as the top international road safety award. The award bases its categories on the five pillars of
SECTION 20
#1732780714103814-691: The crash site suggested that all four engines were at full power at the time of impact. Sergeant Andrew Jack, the aircraft's Wireless Operator/Air Gunner, survived. Jack recovered from the injuries he sustained in the accident, was later commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the General Duties Branch on 12 January 1945, and served in the RAF until 1964, retiring as a Flight Lieutenant . Jack died in Brighton in 1978 aged 56. Flight Sergeant Jack's niece has claimed that Jack told his brother that
851-423: The fifteen crew and passengers, including the Duke of Kent, died in the crash. Sergeant Andrew Jack was the sole survivor. The official board of inquiry concluded that the plane crashed into the hillside due to an error of navigation; i.e. there was not enough allowance made for wind that caused the aircraft to drift off its planned track up the eastern coast of Scotland. The Board noted that investigation at
888-580: The line of succession to the throne through his marriage to a Catholic. He was reinstated to the line of succession on 26 March 2015 with the coming into force of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 , and was 51st in line to the throne as of September 2022 . Michael and Marie-Christine have two children, both brought up as members of the Church of England and therefore in the line of succession to
925-634: The only second son in the extended royal family, would undertake many engagements on behalf of the royal family. He has performed official duties in the Commonwealth realms other than the United Kingdom and has represented the Queen abroad. He has, however, never received a parliamentary annuity or an allowance from the British Privy Purse , unlike both his elder brother, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent , and his sister, Princess Alexandra , who both carry out official royal duties. The Prince
962-450: The people who are dying in Russia or what he did to your own citizens on UK soil". Conservative MP Bob Seely released a statement saying, in part: "We have sanctions against President Putin's regime for good reason. I'd love to know what Prince Michael thinks he is doing by making the UK's values and standards look optional." As a child of a younger son of a British sovereign, he is styled as
999-541: The royal family to learn Russian, of which he is a qualified interpreter. Michael was commissioned into the 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) in 1963. He later served in The Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) after the amalgamation between the 11th Hussars and the 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) in 1969. He saw service in Germany, Hong Kong , and Cyprus , where his squadron formed part of
1036-675: The throne since birth: In 2014, Michael was successfully treated for prostate cancer . Prince Michael manages his own consultancy business, and undertakes business throughout the world. He is also a qualified interpreter of Russian. Prince Michael is an active Freemason . He is the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons , and Provincial Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex. Prince Michael speaks fluent Russian and has
1073-513: The time of the marriage, Marie-Christine von Reibnitz was both a Roman Catholic and a divorcée. She had been married to the banker Thomas Troubridge (1939–2015); they separated in 1973, divorced in 1977, and had their marriage annulled by the Catholic Church a year later, two months before her marriage to Michael. Under the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701 , Michael forfeited his place in
1110-469: Was killed in a plane crash near Dunbeath , Caithness , Scotland, on 25 August 1942. At the age of five, Prince Michael was a page boy at the wedding of his cousins Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten . Michael was educated at Sunningdale School and Eton College and is fluent in French as well as having a "working knowledge" of German and Italian. He is the first member of
1147-517: Was absent); Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (his paternal uncle, who was absent); the Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven (his paternal first cousin twice removed); and Lady Patricia Ramsay (his paternal first cousin twice removed). Because of the war, newspaper reports did not identify the location of the baptism and said instead that it took place at "a private chapel in the country". Seven weeks after Michael's birth, his father
Prince Michael International Road Safety Award - Misplaced Pages Continue
1184-484: Was born on 4 July 1942, at Coppins , Iver , Buckinghamshire. He was the third child of Prince George, Duke of Kent , who was the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary and a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and George VI . At birth, Michael was seventh in line to the British throne. His mother was Princess Marina , a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia . At Michael's baptism on 4 August 1942 in
1221-578: Was given the use of a grace and favour apartment at Kensington Palace upon his marriage in 1978. Michael represented the Queen at state funerals in India, Cyprus and Swaziland and, with his wife, Princess Michael of Kent , represented the Queen at the independence celebrations in Belize , and at the coronation of King Mswati III of Swaziland . Michael supports a large number of charities and organisations. Some of his patronages and presidencies include:
1258-595: Was made Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Benson (promoted to Honorary Air Marshal in 2012). From 2009 to 2012, he was Regimental Colonel of the Honourable Artillery Company and on 31 January 2012 became its Royal Honorary Colonel. He is also Colonel-in-Chief of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment in Canada. As the third child of George V's fourth son, it was not expected that Prince Michael, as
1295-555: Was proposed in Parliament by Prime Minister Winston Churchill . A Royal Air Force Board of Inquiry determined that the crash was the result of a navigational error by the crew leading to controlled flight into terrain . The aircraft, assigned to 228 Squadron , was based at RAF Oban . 228 Squadron was part of 18 Group , involved in long-range maritime operations and particularly anti-submarine warfare , reconnaissance and long-range liaison flights. The aircraft and crew were on
1332-475: Was the Queen's "unofficial ambassador to Russia" and had direct access to Putin. He later stated that he had "overpromised", while the prince said that he had not had contact with Putin since 2003. In a 2019 interview, Michael stated that he visited Russia twice a year as part of his work for the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce. Marina Litvinenko denounced the prince's actions, saying that it demonstrated that he did not "care about human rights, democracy, about
1369-547: Was the crash of a Short S.25 Sunderland Mk. III in the Scottish Highlands , on a headland known as Eagle's Rock ( Scottish Gaelic : Creag na h-Iolaire ) near Dunbeath , Caithness , on 25 August 1942. The crash killed 14 of 15 passengers and crew, including Prince George, Duke of Kent , who was on duty as an Air Commodore in the Royal Air Force on a mission to Reykjavík ; a message of condolence
#102897