An ancient order alleged to have handed out honours as part of the controversial campaign to elect Baroness Scotland as Secretary General of the Commonwealth has announced it has given a knighthood to the Queen’s cousin, Prince Michael of Kent.
The Prince was given the knighthood in August by the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St George, which claims to represent the long-defunct Kingdom of Two Sicilies, according to a press release by the group.
The Italian order was previously revealed by The Mail on Sunday to have been involved in an exchange of honours in Caribbean countries.
An ancient order alleged to have handed out honours as part of the controversial campaign to elect Baroness Scotland as Secretary General of the Commonwealth has announced it has given a knighthood to the Queen’s cousin, Prince Michael of Kent (above)
That process is alleged to have assisted in the election of former New Labour politician Baroness Scotland – dubbed ‘Baroness Brazen’ – to the top post in the Commonwealth.
After enquiries by The Mail on Sunday, press releases that were posted online by the Constantinian Order announcing the award to Prince Michael are no longer available.
In an extraordinary volte face last night, the order claimed the award of the knighthood had ‘never been concretised’, and that the press releases had been a ‘mistake’.
Prince Michael was on a yacht with the order’s leader, Charles di Borbone, in St Tropez in August, when it is thought he was given the Royal Order of Francis I.
The Prince was awarded the knighthood by the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St George, which claims to represent the defunct Kingdom of Two Sicilies. The Italian order was previously revealed by The Mail on Sunday to have been involved in an exchange of honours in Caribbean countries. That process is alleged to have assisted in the election of Baroness Scotland (above) to the top post in the Commonwealth
The ‘knighthood’ is not recognised as an official honour in the UK. Under Foreign Office rules, UK citizens must get the Government’s permission before accepting foreign honours. It is understood the Prince did not make any such request.
In the press release, the Order said the honour was given by di Borbone to Prince Michael for his ‘important achievements in supporting sustainable development’ and other recipients had included Mrs Thatcher.
Mail on Sunday’s report last year about the Baroness
The leader of the Order’s British branch is Anthony Bailey who, along with the branch’s former ‘vice delegate’ Baroness Scotland, was embroiled in a scandal in the Caribbean after it emerged that money promised to causes by the Order was never paid in full. Charitable projects in Antigua were forced to take out loans to meet the shortfall.
Following an investigation by this newspaper, a knighthood given to Bailey by the Antiguan government was revoked by the island’s governor general due to ‘irregularities’.
In March, the Duke of Gloucester accepted an award on behalf of the Queen from ‘Prince’ Davit of Georgia, who claimed to be the heir to the Caucasus state. Historian Hugo Vickers said it could ‘trigger an avalanche of royal pretenders wishing to adorn the Queen’.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘As this was not a state award, we do not consider such requests.’ Prince Michael’s spokesman declined to comment.