Queen Elizabeth's cousin returns Kremlin honour as he caves in to pressure

Russia is being condemned for invading Ukraine. Thousands of people have been killed  and  over a million fled the  war.

As the condemnations poured in  for Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Queen Elizabeth's cousin Prince Michael of Kent said announced to return the Order of Friendship he received from then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2009.

According to UK's Daily Express, the Prince has spent much of the past 30 years doing business in Russia and has faced accusations that he was selling privileged access to Vladimir Putin’s regime.

The report said, the Prince is related to the last Tsar Nicholas II through his late grandmother, Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia. According to the report Michael has been under intense pressure to cut his ties with leading business figures linked to Putin’s regime after the invasion of Ukraine.

The newspaper reported that a spokesman for the Prince, whose father was a younger brother of King George VI, said: “I can confirm that HRH Prince Michael of Kent is returning his Russian Order of Friendship.