HIDDEN high in the hills behind Stroud in Gloucestershire stands Nether Lypiatt Manor, for almost quarter of a century the country home of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.

It is also where Princess Michael spends as much time as her public duties allow, surrounded by the dogs, cats and horses she loves so much.

And it is where she has spent much of the past five years carrying out the detailed research needed for her third historical book - the Serpent and the Moon.

The book is a detailed biography of Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henri II of France, whose wife was Catherine de Medici.

With an abiding love of history and the arts and being a direct descendant of both women, the Renaissance story was an obvious choice for the Princess.

Princess Michael describes the book as a love story but it is much more than that: it is also a story of intrigue, betrayal, war and persecution.

Running to almost 200,000 words, she recaptures the story of the two rivals for the affections of the French king.

It is a beautifully illustrated and well-researched book and is likely to be as successful as Princess Michael's other works, both of which were best-sellers and translated worldwide.

It was the success of these books that thrust Princess Michael on to the international lecture circuit.

Last year she delivered nearly 50 lectures to American museums and universities mainly taking figures from history as her topics.

It all adds up to a pretty hectic lifestyle.

The Princess says both she and husband Prince Michael work around the clock and there are times when she could even be described as a workaholic.

She wakes at seven each day, exercises and has breakfast before settling down to work on whatever she is writing.

"I work all day without ceasing, except for half an hour for lunch and half an hour for tea.

"I work until dinner at eight o'clock," she says, but her writing and research is constantly interrupted by official duties.

The Kents are not included in the Civil List "and so we have to earn our money."

"We have to meet all the costs, including all our travelling expenses," she says.

But Princess Michael is not complaining. "We are very privileged so it is our duty to try to give something back. We enjoy it and I meet many lovely people."

The Princess believes she has often been the unfair target of media criticism, because a lot of her engagements are not made public.

And she has faced criticism more recently for allegedly racist comments made in the USA - an accusation she strongly denies.

Some years ago Princess Michael was accused of describing the English as "stupid" - a charge she firmly rejects, although she is irritated by what she calls "habitual false modesty" - "you don't get that on the Continent."

She is also a fervent hunt supporter and fears what is to happen once the ban comes into force.

"We have many good friends who hunt but now I am concerned for many country people and for the countryside.

"Who is going to look after the copses and the hedges that harbour so much wildlife?

"In future their maintenance may be neglected."

* The Serpent and the Moon by Princess Michael of Kent. Published by Simon and Schuster, costs £20.