Princess Michael Of Kent: ‘Don’t be up too late, darling’ and notes on a plain Ryvita
PLUGGING her book of fiction The Queen of Four Kingdoms (‘The epic true story of a rich and riveting period of French and English history, all witnessed by the captivating and complex heroine Yolande”), Princess Michael of Kent shows off some remarkable gems. She remains very uncommon in the Sunday Times interview:
I have a tray brought to my bedroom at 9am. Breakfast is served on my Herend china and I sit in an old armchair so I can read the papers. I have zero-fat yoghurt with cinnamon, which is meant to be a fat-burner, and a pot of ginger tea made with grated ginger. This I have with lavender honey and one plain Ryvita. Life is a battle against the expanding waistline, so some mornings I just have a fresh juice made from five vegetables that my manicurist told me about. It’s frightfully good.
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After breakfast, the prince, who has his quarters next door, looks in. Mother, being very European, once said: “If you and your husband have separate bedrooms, you are fresher for one another. You won’t see each other being cross or saying, ‘I can’t do this up. It’s too tight!’ ”
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Every morning our secretaries give us our “day sheets” to confirm any engagements we have and I will dress accordingly. If I’m travelling, I like things to be drip-dry; that way I can wash them in a bathtub. The prince says, “She’s either catalogue or couture,” but most of the time I’m too mean to buy new clothes. I think I have only walked down the high street once in my married life.
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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. For the first time that terrible word came into my life when our private secretary said: “Ma’am, you have to downsize.” It was the worst word I’d heard in ages!
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If we’re at home in the evening, a simple meal is prepared for us — maybe a grill. When I was growing up in Austria, my mother used to say: “You must learn to cook!” And I’d say, “Mama, I will have a cook when I marry,” and she’d reply: “You may not!” So I did learn to cook five dishes, including goulash, wiener schnitzel and tafelspitz. I’m also a dab hand at tinned salmon soufflé.
In the evening I often go back to my desk and carry on writing, often till very late. I don’t mind: I love the night. The prince will then come in to say goodnight in his pyjamas, and he will often add: “Don’t be up too late, darling.”
She does not say
Posted: 13th, October 2013 | In: Books, Royal Family Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
