The Queen’s cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, has returned a Russian honour he received in 2009 because of the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Michael, who is the grandson of King George V and Queen Mary, was awarded the Order of Friendship, one of the highest orders in Russia, by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev for his work on Anglo-Russian relations.
A spokesperson for the prince told the Daily Express: “I can confirm that HRH Prince Michael of Kent is returning his Russian Order of Friendship.”
The spokesperson added that there would be “no further comment”.
Michael is related to Tsar Nicholas II through his grandmother, and his website states that he’s always “had a strong emotional attachment to Russia, which he first visited in 1992, following the collapse of communism”.
Prince Michael is also patron of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce and he is “closely involved” with a number of charities and humanitarian organisations in Russia.
The news follows the Queen reportedly making a “generous donation” to the Disaster Emergency Committee’s (DEC) appeal to help Ukrainians displaced by the war.
Prince Charles and Prince William have also made sizeable donations, the charity said.
The DEC did not disclose how much the royal family members donated when approached for comment by The Independent.
Last week, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge released a statement standing in solidarity with Ukraine. It read: “Today we stand with the President and all of Ukraine’s people as they bravely fight for that future.”
The comments followed a similar statement from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who were the first members of the royal family to comment on the war.
A statement posted to their site Archewell read: “Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and all of us at Archewell stand with the people of Ukraine against this breach of international and humanitarian law and encourage the global community and its leaders to do the same.”
