British Prince to take part in rally to mark St. Petersburg's 300th anniversary

His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent arrived in Yekaterinburg yesterday morning to take part in the retro rally 'Celebrating St. Petersburg's 300th Anniversary'. The rally, of which the British prince is one of the organisers, will begin on May 20 in Yekaterinburg.

The rally's organising committee told Rosbalt that Prince Michael would personally be taking part in the rally along with members of the English Bentley club. The rare Bentley sports cars, which were built before 1930, will have to race over 2,500 kilometres in 15 days. The route of the rally runs through Izhevsk, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow, before finishing in St. Petersburg on June 2. Yesterday morning 15 Bentleys arrived in Yekaterinburg on a special cargo plane. The cars were scheduled to be put on public display prior to the start of the race.

Prince Michael said that the Vintage Car Rally was not only intended to mark St. Petersburg's jubilee, but would also help raise funds for Russian charities. According to the prince, the event will also help foreign countries to study the investment potential of Russian regions in more detail.

The Sverdlovsk Region's Ministry for International and Foreign Economic Ties told Rosbalt that Prince Michael is also planning to meet members of the regional government.