Royal Family left heartbroken as Duchess of Kent dies aged 92
Buckingham Palace has announced that a member of the Royal Family has died.
The Duchess of Kent has died aged 92
The Duchess of Kent, wife of the late Queen’s cousin the Duke of Kent,has died aged 92, Buckingham Palace has announced. The royal died peacefully on Thursday evening at her Kensington Palace home surrounded by her family.
Katharine was an extraordinary woman who famously converted to Catholicism in 1992 and 10 years later she gave up full-time royal duties and her HRH title to pursue a life away from the spotlight. She was also well known for being a regular fixture at Wimbledon, famously comforting a tearful Jana Novotna after she lost the Women’s singles trophy in 1993.
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Buckingham Palace announced the Duchess’s death at noon on Friday. She is survived by her husband, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and their three children.
A notice is placed on the gates of Buckingham Palace announcing the death of the Duchess of Kent (Image: PA)
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “It is with deep sorrow that Buckingham Palace announces the death of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent. Her Royal Highness passed away peacefully last night at Kensington Palace, surrounded by her family.
“The King and Queen and all Members of The Royal Family join The Duke of Kent, his children and grandchildren in mourning their loss and remembering fondly The Duchess’s life-long devotion to all the organisations with which she was associated, her passion for music and her empathy for young people.”
The sad news was posted on the Royal Family’s official website and a formal framed announcement was placed on the railings of Buckingham Palace. The royal residence also lowered the union flag to half-mast as a mark of respect.
An online Book of Condolence will be available in the coming days.
Katharine married the Duke of Kent in 1961 (Image: PA)
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The King, at Balmoral, has been informed and has approved Royal Mourning until the day of the funeral. The cause of death has not been revealed.
As a mark of respect, members of the Royal Family and staff will wear clothing which pays appropriate tribute during this period. Those in Livery, the Royal Mews and Troops on Public Duties will wear black armbands.
Royal engagements are likely to continue, although households will consider the ‘format and tone’ of engagements during this period. There is unlikely to be a period of national mourning as the Duchess was no longer a working royal.
The Prime Minister paid tribute to the royal by sharing a moving statement hailing her “compassion, dignity and human touch”.
Sir Keir Starmer said: “I wish to send my sincere condolences to His Majesty The King and the Royal Family on the death of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent.
“For many years, she was one of our hardest working royals – supporting our late Queen Elizabeth II in her official duties at home and abroad.
“She brought compassion, dignity and a human touch to everything she did. Many will remember that moment at the Wimbledon Ladies Final, when she touchingly comforted the runner-up, Jana Novotna.
“Later, when it was discovered she had been giving her time and working anonymously as a music teacher at a school in Hull, it seemed typical of her unassuming nature.
“In so many ways, the Duchess sought to help. My thoughts are with her husband, His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent, her family and all those whose lives she touched.”
The Duchess of Kent has died, Buckingham Palace has announced (Image: Getty)
Duchess of Kent statement in full:
Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Friday: “It is with deep sorrow that Buckingham Palace announces the death of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent. Her Royal Highness passed away peacefully last night at Kensington Palace, surrounded by her family.
“The King and Queen and all Members of The Royal Family join The Duke of Kent, his children and grandchildren in mourning their loss and remembering fondly The Duchess’s life-long devotion to all the organisations with which she was associated, her passion for music and her empathy for young people.”
The last picture of the Duchess of Kent was last October, where she sat in a wheelchair (Image: PA)
Details of her funeral will be announced in the coming days, although it is likely to be a Catholic service since the Duchess had converted to the religion.
It is likely to be well attended by members of the Royal Family, with the King and Queen, and both senior and non-working royals expected to pay their final respects. With Prince Harry returning to the UK early next week, he may decide to extend his trip and attend the funeral.
Born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley, she married Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent in 1961. The couple had three children together: George, Earl of St Andrews, Lady Helen Taylor, and Lord Nicholas Windsor and later welcomed 10 grandchildren.
Though she threw herself into royal duties, she suffered a devastating miscarriage in 1975 after catching German measles. Just two years later, she endured further heartbreak when she gave birth to a stillborn son, Patrick.
The experience sent her into a deep depression, which saw her hospitalised for “nervous strain” in 1978. She also faced a number of other health issues, including a recurrent gallbladder problem, treatment for an ovarian cyst, and the Epstein-Barr virus with symptoms resembling those of ME or chronic fatigue syndrome.
In her heyday, the Duchess was one of the most popular members of the Royal Family. She earned the enduring respect of Queen Elizabeth as she travelled the world as a UNICEF ambassador, volunteered for the Samaritans, and regularly presented trophies at Wimbledon.
The royal also became the first member of the royal family to convert to Catholicism in more than 300 years, and her funeral will be the first Catholic service held for a royal in modern British history. Her husband did not convert, so he remained in the line of succession.
“I do love guidelines and the Catholic Church offers you guidelines. I have always wanted that in my life. I like to know what’s expected of me. I like being told: You shall go to church on Sunday and if you don’t you’re in for it!” she told the BBC
The Duchess of Kent was a regular at Wimbledon (Image: Getty)
The Duchess of Kent consoling Jana Novotna at Wimbledon (Image: PA)
In addition to tennis, the Duchess’s other passions lay with music. In 2004, she founded the charity Future Talent, an organisation working to break down barriers and give children from low-income backgrounds equal opportunities to excel in music by helping them purchase instruments and funding music lessons.
A skilled pianist, organist, and singer, she secretly taught music in a Hull primary school, where she kept her royal identity hidden. Known simply as Mrs Kent, or Katharine, the teachers and her pupils had no idea that the teacher who gave weekly 40-minute lessons was married to a prince.
She spent 13 years at Wansbeck Primary School in Hull, teaching music and working with the choir. The Yorkshire-born duchess said: “I love those children, I loved being there and I love East Hull. I wouldn’t have stayed there for 13 years if I hadn’t.”
The late Queen supported Katharine’s decision to step down as a working royal in favour of becoming a teacher, and the duchess spoke fondly of her years sharing her love of music with the next generation.
“It’s a privilege,” she told the BBC in 2004. “To me it’s one of the most exciting jobs anyone can do.”
She also taught part-time in a school attended by children who lived in Grenfell Tower and in 2018 attended a memorial service at the base of the high-rise building to mark the first anniversary of the fire which claimed 72 lives.
Incredibly elegant and a favourite of royal photographers in her youth, she has rarely been seen in public over the past decade.
The duchess, who became the oldest member of the royal family following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, made a rare appearance in October 2024 when she was pictured in a wheelchair for the first time.
Wrapped in a blue shawl, she joined her husband outside their Kensington Palace home, Wren House, to watch bagpipers play Happy Birthday on the day he turned 89.
The duchess did not attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022 and nor did she attend the King’s Coronation the following year. However, she had attended milestone events in the years prior, including the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding in 2018 and the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s nuptials in 2011.
Though they had once lived separate lives, in the decade since Edward’s stroke in 2013, the pair were said to be closer than ever as they spent her last remaining years together in their modest home on the Kensington estate.
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