Katharine, the Duchess of Kent, had a secret.
Every Friday for 13 years, she boarded a train from London and travelled to a primary school in Hull, where she taught music.
“Her identity was only known to the head teacher,” said royal commentator Afua Hagan.
“She was just known as Mrs Kent.”
When she died this month, the Duchess was not the most famous member of the British royal family.
She never wanted to be.
“Nothing she did was for show,” said her friend, Nicholas Robinson OBE.
“She certainly avoided the media and the photographers. Everything was done in a quiet way.“
The Duchess used that discretion to blaze her own path.
Jana Novotna was consoled by the Duchess of Kent, after the 1993 Wimbledon final. (AP: Denis Paquin)
She married in a church that hadn’t been a royal wedding venue for six centuries, became the first British royal to convert to Catholicism in hundreds of years, and made international headlines when she consoled a runner-up at Wimbledon by giving her a hug.
She served as a working royal for decades, but in 2002, with the late Queen’s blessing, the Duchess renounced her title to pursue her passion for music, at the age of 61.
She never looked back.
“It’s a privilege,” she told the BBC in 2004.
“To me it’s one of the most exciting jobs anyone can do.”
While the Duchess loved her job, it also laid bare the lack of opportunities for many musically gifted children, especially if their parents weren’t wealthy.
“It worried her that she was experiencing this at one school in England but she was aware of many more children around the country,” Mr Robinson said.
He befriended the Duchess in early 2004, when he was the headmaster of King’s College Choir School in Cambridge.
Two of her granddaughters attended there, and after a school event, the music teacher and the headmaster got chatting about the power of music.
“We were on the same sort of wavelength,” Mr Robinson said.
“We both had a love of children and music and could see how it can transform lives.”
Nicholas Robinson with the Duchess of Kent. (Supplied: Future Talent/KT Bruce)
Neither of them knew it, but their own lives were about to be transformed too.
Their conversation inspired them to start a charity for musically gifted young people.
Future Talent was designed to champion young artists — supporting them practically, emotionally and financially.
Mr Robinson said the Duchess was very hands-on — a trustee of the board who attended every meeting and would hit the phones to raise funds or rally support.
Mr Robinson recalled one occasion when they were organising an auction for an upcoming gala.
“She rang me up and said, I’ve got a prize for you. I hope you’ll be happy’,” Mr Robinson said.
“It’s a Jaguar car worth about 50,000 pounds, brand new.”
He laughed.
“I mean, she would just ask people. And with her disarming smile and lovely personality, she wasn’t pushy,”
he said.
“And because they loved her, people would just give her whatever she asked for. It was wonderful.”
Her contacts were useful too. Rockstar Sting became one of their founding ambassadors.
The Duchess of Kent was passionate about providing opportunities to musically gifted children. (Supplied: Future Talent/Ronnie Scotts)
Changing lives
Over the past twenty years, the impact of Future Talent has grown, fostering talent across the country — some of whom are now playing instruments across the world.
Like Joshua Batty.
The musician started playing woodwind instruments as a child to help with his asthma, and at 27, he became the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s lead flautist.
As a young teenager, he auditioned for a competition with Future Talent.
He left with a gold medal and a £3000 ($6,100) prize, which went towards the purchase of a flute he still plays today.
Future Talent gave Mr Batty the opportunity to perform at receptions, Wimbledon and even Buckingham Palace, which he described as “a sort of pinch me moment”.
Over the years, the Duchess got to know him and his family.
Mr Batty recalled getting a call from the Duchess out of the blue, just to check on him and make sure everything was going well.
“She was warm and curious … there was never any pomp and ceremony, she did it humbly, very genuine,” he said.
It wasn’t until the performance at Buckingham Palace he first recognised the magnitude of her royal position.
Joshua Batty with the Duchess of Kent. (Supplied)
Mr Batty recently made the difficult decision to step down from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra to focus on his solo career and supporting other artists.
Like Future Talent’s founder, he too believes in the power of music.
“I grew up in a small town in the north of England … without music I would never have played in the Opera House, or travelled the world,” he said.
“It does change lives.”
Buckingham Palace announced the Duchess died “surrounded by family” on September 5.
She is survived by her beloved husband of 63 years, their three children and ten grandchildren.
They said their final goodbyes at the first Catholic royal funeral in modern history.
A trailblazer, to the very end.
A Requiem Mass service was held for the Duchess of Kent at Westminster Cathedral on September 16. (Reuters: Jordan Pettitt/Pool)
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.abc.net.au ’
