Buckingham Palace has announced the death of The King’s cousin, The Duchess of Kent.
Aged 92, Katharine died at Kensington Palace yesterday. No details have yet been shared about the circumstances or cause of her death.
The full statement from the Palace is as follows:
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 Duchess became the oldest living member of the Royal Family after Elizabeth II’s death in 2022.
She was married to Prince Edward, The Duke of Kent, a grandson of King George V and cousin of the late Elizabeth II. The couple wed at York Minster in June 1961, having gotten engaged earlier in the year. The couple had met while the Duke was based at Catterick army base in Yorkshire.
The Duke and Duchess of Kent had three children: George, Earl of St Andrews, born in 1962; Lady Helen Taylor (born 1964) and Lord Nicholas Windsor, welcomed in 1970.
To many, she was known as the Duchess who converted to Catholicism in 1994, with Elizabeth II’s full support.
She ceased to use her HRH style in 2002 as she reduced her workload, and became informally known as Katharine Kent.
With a passion for music, in 2022, Katharine spoke to the Telegraph about her life and work, giving the newer royal watchers a glimpse into her life of private service.
Speaking about her time as an incognito teacher, the Duchess explained: ‘Only the Head knew who I was. The parents didn’t know and the pupils didn’t know. No one ever noticed. There was no publicity about it at all – it just seemed to work. Why I don’t know, but it just did. I taught children from the youngest possible age right until the end of primary school.’
