“It is with deep sorrow that Buckingham Palace announces the death of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent.”
The Duchess of Kent, who was married to the late Queen’s cousin, has died at the age of 92, Buckingham Palace has announced.
Katharine Worsley, who in 1961 married the Duke of Kent Prince Edward, a grandson of King George V, has died peacefully at her Kensington Palace home surrounded by her family on late Thursday evening.
The 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 union flag at Buckingham Palace was lowered to half mast at midday as a mark of respect and a formal framed announcement will be posted on the railings of the royal residence shortly.
Katharine was known for consoling losing Wimbledon finalists, notably a tearful Jana Novotna in 1993, and presented trophies at the championships for many years.
She preferred to be known as Mrs Kent and dropped her HRH style, retreating from royal life to spend more than a decade teaching music in a state primary school in Hull.
The duchess became the oldest member of the royal family following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
A devout follower of the Roman Catholic faith, the duchess became the first member of the royal family to convert to Catholicism for more than 300 years, doing so in 1994.
The duchess will be expected to have a Catholic funeral, attended by senior royals including the King and Queen.
It will be the first Catholic funeral service held for a member of the royal family in modern British history.
Born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley on February 22 1933, she had an aristocratic upbringing as the only daughter of landowner Colonel Sir William Worsley – a baronet – and Lady Worsley of Hovingham Hall, near York.
She married King George V’s grandson Edward, Duke of Kent, in a grand ceremony in York Minster in 1961 and became known for her elegant fashion style.
The pair have three surviving children, George, Earl of St Andrews, Lady Helen Windsor, and Lord Nicholas Windsor.
The duchess suffered heartbreak after catching German measles while pregnant in 1975, forcing her to have a termination, and then two years later she endured the devastation of giving birth to a stillborn son, Patrick.
She went on to suffer from depression and nervous strain, and 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.
Although the couple did not divorce, she led a separate life from the duke for many years.
Elizabeth II gave the duchess permission to drop her HRH style when she stepped away from the public spotlight.
The duke and duchess were said to be closer than ever after Edward suffered a stroke in 2013, with Katharine moving back to their Wren House home.
Despite attending Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s 2011 wedding, and the Sussexes’ nuptials in 2018, Katharine did not take part in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations nor attend her funeral or the King’s coronation.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.dailyrecord.co.uk ’
