Red faces as ‘royals for hire’ scandal erupts

LONDON: Queen Elizabeth’s cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, 78, has been caught offering investors access to the Kremlin in exchange for personal gain, according to a Sunday Times and Channel 4 investigation.

The embarassing claims come at a time of disastrous relations between London and Moscow.

Prince Michael told undercover reporters posing as investors from South Korea in a virtual meeting that for £10 000 (R196 517) a day he could make “confidential” representations to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s entourage. He could also give the company a royal endorsement in a recorded speech for $200 000, with his Kensington Palace home as a backdrop. In a recorded meeting with the undercover reporters, his business partner Lord Reading called the prince “Her Majesty’s unofficial ambassador to Russia … we wouldn’t want the world to know he’s seeing Putin purely for business reasons… ”

Prince Michaee said he had no special relations with Putin.