I'm not racist, says princess, I even pretended to be 'half-caste'
Tania Branigan
Saturday July 24, 2004
The Guardian

It was a curious way to bury allegations of racism, but then there is much about Princess Michael of Kent that is curious. Ignoring the first rule for dealing with any gaffe - stop digging - she has revealed she once pretended to be "half-caste" and has declared her love for "adorable" Africans.

Dubbed Princess Pushy thanks to a reputation for demanding behaviour and an unduly privileged lifestyle, she got into difficulty two months ago when she allegedly told a group of African American diners in New York to "go back to the colonies". She said there had been a misunderstanding.

In a bizarre interview to be broadcast on ITV1 on Sunday, she has enlarged on the injustice of the accusations.

No one could consider her racist, she said, were they to know of her past.

"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," Princess Michael said.

Then she digs some more: "I travelled on African buses. I wanted to be a writer. I wanted experiences from Cape Town to right up in northern Mozambique. I had this adventure with these absolutely adorable, special people and to call me racist: it's a knife through the heart because I really love these people." Whether the sentiment is reciprocated is unclear.