Princess Michael of Kent

“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.'”

“There is this place called the Tower of London and I think if I wrote about any Royal figure as recent as the 20th Century I might end up there!”

“I mean, Princess Margaret had me officially informed by the master of the household that she wouldn't speak to me until I changed my religion. That was not personal. We'd only met for five minutes. That was historical. She never spoke to me in 25 years. We were always very polite to one another, but we didn't speak.”

“My mother was a skier who represented Hungary in the 1936 Olympics, and she was very health-conscious.”

“I have great lineage.”

“Prince William is absolutely adorable.”

“France's Charles VI was subject to fits of insanity and unable to rule.”

“I have a pooper-scooper, a long-handled thing with a little shovel.”

“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.”

“I even pretended years ago to be an African, a half-caste African, but because of my light eyes I did not get away with it, but I dyed my hair black.”

“I have never considered myself English Both my husband and my son say I don't understand English humour, and they don't always understand what I think is funny, or when I'm being ironic.”

“I've got a better background than anyone else who married into the royal family since the war, excepting Prince Philip.”

“My mother, when I married, said you must have separate bathrooms and separate bedrooms. That was the only sure way of keeping a marriage alive because it was an invitation as opposed to just being there and that makes it more romantic.”

“Kissing babies and cutting ribbons I tell you, it bores me rigid.”

“I think I have only walked down the high street once in my married life.”

“I hold hands with all my friends. I don't think that's being intimate at all.”

“When I came back from my honeymoon, I was informed that it was not appropriate for a princess to be involved in trade. This came from the court. What about my income? That was my problem, I was told.”

“I think it's amazing - I think stem cell is the future, there's no doubt in my mind.”

“I'm extremely happy and extremely grateful to these stem cells. I started tennis again, and it's going very well. I have no problem moving my arm. So I'm delighted.”

“My mother was one of the first women admitted to Vienna University and her word was law.”