Quotes from Princess Michael of Kent

Since I descend just as directly from Catherine de' Medici as I do from Diane de Poitiers, I have no personal interest in damning the one while glorifying the other.

And sometimes people say, 'Oh well, we all descend from Adam and Eve.' But do you descend from Charlemagne directly? Do you descend from Saint King Louis IX? I do.

There is a law against discrimination in England. But there is a different law for the royal family.

We've cut back dramatically. I mean we never go out to dinner unless we go to somebody's house. We never go to restaurants. That's too extravagant.

I have been together with my husband for 33 years. Romance can still be there if you don't see each other brushing your teeth. There's something very nasty about brushing your teeth and then all that flossing.

I am not a qualified historian, but rather a teller of stories from history.

Look, I was taught, and I taught my children, if they ever came back from school saying 'Oh, so and so's father's got a helicopter, it's not fair,' I'd say, 'Fair? Whoever said life had to be fair? Is it fair that you live in Kensington Palace? That you've each got a pony? There are an awful lot of kids without a pony, you know.'

I sail and play tennis, and I don't smoke or drink caffeine.

This cancer isn't life-threatening so I consider myself to be very fortunate. In the course of my charity work I meet so many people who have suffered terribly - what I've got really isn't an issue.

Prince William is absolutely adorable.

It's all changed now at Wimbledon. There's just one big loo for the whole Royal Box. I don't think we're treated differently.

Of course I miss the big gardens we had at our country house but it became very expensive to run we couldn't afford it.

I'm a Catholic, you know, not very good news!

Queen Elizabeth is reserved when she meets strangers - but with friends and family she can be very witty.

Under Milk Wood' was given to me when I was quite young, in Sydney. I didn't even know what Wales was, let alone anything about Dylan Thomas. It taught me the beginning of my love of English literature.

There's a lovely character in 'Under Milk Wood' called Mrs. Ogmore Pritchard and she's incredibly tidy and clean. She really is unbearably tidy and clean! And I terrorize my husband when he comes in sometimes from shooting and there's awful dead birds all over the hall that he calls me Mrs. Ogmore Pritchard.

I am trying to reach people who would not normally head for the history section of a book shop or a library to try to show that history would be as interesting and thrilling as a novel.

I'm a workaholic. I'm a Capricorn, It's my nature, And I'm convent educated: I sew better than any nanny we've ever had.

Well, actually I think it's very important with breeding thoroughbreds - which I did for a period - and my husband is head of the Kennel Club, and it's very important with dogs and horses, because otherwise things go wrong in the competitions.

The English take the breeding of their horses and dogs more seriously than they do their children. God forbid that the wrong drop of blood should get into their labrador. But their children marry everywhere.

What do you actually mean when you say human rights? Animals don't have rights in that sense.

I don't know whether or not it's good that we embrace all religions. We are no longer Christians - nevertheless a knowledge of God should still be important for Europeans.

Our children are very much remaining Anglican, and I very much wish to remain and shall remain a Catholic.

I don't have the figure for fashion and I've never heard anyone say I was a fashion icon.