The British royal family is always making headlines — sometimes for rather unsavoury reasons.
Prince Michael of Kent
In May 2021, it was reported that Prince Michael of Kent was willing to use his royal status for personal profit and to seek favours from Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The Queen’s cousin told undercover reporters posing as investors from South Korea in a virtual meeting that he could be hired for £10,000 a day to make “confidential” representations to Mr Putin’s regime.
Channel 4 Dispatches and The Sunday Times collaborated to set up the fake South Korean gold company called House of Haedong. Prince Michael of Kent responded by showing interest in working with the company, telling undercover reporters that he would give House of Haedong his royal endorsement in a recorded speech for a $200,000 fee and was happy to use his home in Kensington Palace as a backdrop.
Responding to the programme, Prince Michael’s office said:
“Prince Michael receives no public funding and earns his own living through a consultancy company that he has run for over 40 years. Prince Michael has no special relationship with President Putin. They last met in June 2003 and Prince Michael has had no contact with him or his office since then.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked the world when they announced their decision to step back from royal duties in a statement on their @SussexRoyal Instagram account and a new website in early January 2020.
After talks with the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge in Sandringham, an agreement was reached that the Sussexes would no longer receive public funds and will not use their HRH titles, but that they would keep their patronages and retain Frogmore Cottage as their UK home. Harry and Meghan now live in Montecito, Santa Barbara with their son Archie and are expecting a baby daughter this summer.
Prince Harry and Meghan
The Sussex tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021 dropped many bombshells that shocked the world. While the couple shared some heartwarming anecdotes about life in the US with their son Archie and also revealed that they were expecting a girl in the summer (royals generally tend not to reveal their baby’s gender until after the birth), Harry and Meghan did make some surprising revelations.
The Duke of York
The Queen’s second son stepped back from royal duties in November 2019, following his TV interview with BBC Newsnight, which focused on his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince Andrew’s statement at the time read:
“I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission. I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein.
“His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims, and I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure. I can only hope that, in time, they will be able to rebuild their lives. Of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.”
The Duchess of Cambridge
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were awarded £92,000 in damages in 2017 after French Closer magazine published topless photos of Kate on a private holiday in Provence in 2012. A French court ruled that the paparazzi pictures were an invasion of the couple’s privacy.
A statement from Kensington Palace at the time read: “This incident was a serious breach of privacy, and Their Royal Highnesses felt it essential to pursue all legal remedies.
“They wished to make the point strongly that this kind of unjustified intrusion should not happen.”
Diana, Princess of Wales
Princess Diana shocked the world when she sat down for an extensive interview with BBC1 Panorama in November 1995, in which she spoke candidly to interviewer Martin Bashir about the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles, her battle with bulimia and life behind palace walls.
King Juan Carlos of Spain
The former king, 82 abdicated in 2014 after a number of alleged controversies, including reported extramarital affairs.
In March 2020, Juan Carlos’ son King Felipe renounced any future inheritance from his father due to reported connections to an alleged financial scandal. It was also declared that Juan Carlos would lose his public allowance from the state’s general budget.
Iñaki Urdangarin
King Felipe of Spain’s brother-in-law was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison in June 2018, following convictions of embezzlement and money laundering in excess of £4.5 million through his non-profit organisation, the Noos Institute.
Iñaki’s wife and King Felipe’s sister Infanta Cristina was also investigated but acquitted of any charges. However, King Felipe issued a decree stripping his sister of the title of Duchess of Palma in 2015.
