{"id":1999234,"date":"2025-09-05T12:21:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T12:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1999234"},"modified":"2025-09-05T12:21:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T12:21:16","slug":"duchess-of-kent-katharine-worsley-dies-aged-92-as-royal-family-mourns-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/duchess-of-kent-katharine-worsley-dies-aged-92-as-royal-family-mourns-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Duchess of Kent Katharine Worsley dies aged 92 as Royal Family mourns loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cIt is with deep sorrow that Buckingham Palace announces the death of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent.”<\/h2>\n
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12:14, 05 Sep 2025<\/span>Updated 12:47, 05 Sep 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/g><\/clippath><\/defs><\/svg><\/span>The Duchess of Kent has died<\/span>(Image: PA)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The Duchess of Kent, who was married to the late Queen\u2019s cousin, has died at the age of 92, Buckingham Palace has announced.<\/a><\/p>\n

Katharine Worsley, who in 1961 married the Duke of Kent Prince Edward, a grandson of King George V, has died<\/a> peacefully at her Kensington Palace home surrounded by her family on late Thursday evening.<\/p>\n

The Palace<\/a> said in a statement: \u201cIt is with deep sorrow that Buckingham Palace announces the death of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer Royal Highness passed away peacefully last night at Kensington Palace, surrounded by her family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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\u2019s life-long devotion to all the organisations with which she was associated, her passion for music and her empathy for young people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/figure>
<\/g><\/clippath><\/defs><\/svg><\/span>The Duchess of Kent consoling Jana Novotna as she presents her with the runner-up trophy on centre court at Wimbledon after she lost to defending champion Steffi Graf.<\/span>(Image: PA)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The union flag at Buckingham Palace<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Katharine<\/a> was known for consoling losing Wimbledon finalists, notably a tearful Jana Novotna in 1993, and presented trophies at the championships for many years.<\/p>\n

She preferred to be known as Mrs Kent <\/a>and dropped her HRH style, retreating from royal life to spend more than a decade teaching music in a state primary school in Hull.<\/p>\n

The duchess became the oldest member of the royal family<\/a> following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/figure>
<\/g><\/clippath><\/defs><\/svg><\/span>The Duchess of Kent presenting the Royal Geographical Society Gold Medal to American astronaut Mr Neil Armstrong at the Hyde Park Hotel in 1970.<\/span>(Image: PA)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A devout follower of the Roman Catholic faith, the duchess became the first member of the royal family<\/a> to convert to Catholicism for more than 300 years, doing so in 1994.<\/p>\n

The duchess<\/a> will be expected to have a Catholic funeral, attended by senior royals including the King and Queen.<\/p>\n

It will be the first Catholic funeral service held for a member of the royal family <\/a>in modern British history.<\/p>\n

Born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley <\/a>on February 22 1933, she had an aristocratic upbringing as the only daughter of landowner Colonel Sir William Worsley \u2013 a baronet \u2013 and Lady Worsley of Hovingham Hall, near York.<\/p>\n

She married King George V\u2019s grandson Edward, Duke of Kent<\/a>, in a grand ceremony in York Minster in 1961 and became known for her elegant fashion style.<\/p>\n

The pair have three surviving children<\/a>, George, Earl of St Andrews, Lady Helen Windsor, and Lord Nicholas Windsor.<\/p>\n

The duchess suffered heartbreak<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> resembling those of ME or chronic fatigue syndrome.<\/p>\n

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\"(Left<\/figure>
<\/g><\/clippath><\/defs><\/svg><\/span>(Left to right) The Duchess of Kent, Diana, Princess of Wales, and Prince William chat in the Royal Box during the Women’s Singles Final at Wimbledon.<\/span>(Image: PA)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Although the couple did not divorce<\/a>, she led a separate life from the duke for many years.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth II <\/a>gave the duchess permission to drop her HRH style when she stepped away from the public spotlight.<\/p>\n

The duke and duchess were said to be closer than ever after Edward<\/a> suffered a stroke in 2013, with Katharine moving back to their Wren House home.<\/p>\n

Despite attending Queen\u2019s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge\u2019s 2011 wedding, and the Sussexes\u2019 nuptials in 2018, Katharine did not take part in the Queen\u2019s Platinum Jubilee celebrations nor attend her funeral or the King\u2019s coronation.<\/a><\/p>\n