Britain’s royal family announces death of Duchess of Kent at 92
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Britain’s royal family announces death of Duchess of Kent at 92
The duchess, Katharine, died on Thursday at the age of 92 in Kensington Palace, her longtime home. She became part of the royal family in the early 1960s, when she married Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent. Her most high-profile royal appearances came each summer during the Wimbledon tennis championships, where she would watch matches from the Royal Box.
The duchess, Katharine, died on Thursday at the age of 92 in Kensington Palace, her longtime home, Buckingham Palace announced Friday.
The duchess became part of the royal family in the early 1960s, when she married Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, a first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen Mother and Katharine, Duchess of Kent, arrive at Royal Ascot in an open carriage on June 21, 1989 in Ascot, England. Georges De Keerle/Getty Images
Together, the couple shared three children.
The duchess was a staple at royal family functions, including appearing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, until her retirement from being a working royal in 2002.
Katharine, Duchess of Kent at the Chelsea Flower Show, London, May 22, 2000. Colin Davey/Getty Images
Her most high-profile royal appearances came each summer during the Wimbledon tennis championships, where she would watch matches from the Royal Box.
Katharine, Duchess of Kent, Princess Diana, Princess of Wales and Prince William applaud from the Royal Box during the Women’s Singles Final Match match between Conchita Martinez and Martina Navratilova, July 2, 1994 at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England. Bob Martin/Getty Images
The duchess was also a frequent presence on the court after the championship matches, when she would hand over trophies to the winners, and console those who finished runner-up.
Duchess of Kent, Royal Who Comforted a Wimbledon Loser, Dies at 92
Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley was born on Feb. 22, 1933, in Hovingham in Yorkshire, England. She was a longtime patron of the Wimbledon tennis tournament. The duchess kept a low profile for a member of the royal family.
Buckingham Palace, which announced her death, did not provide additional details.
The duchess kept a low profile for a member of the royal family, fulfilling less visible duties and steering clear of scandal at a time when more prominent royals were sometimes embroiled in it.
To those who were not regular royal watchers, she was best known for comforting the losing finalist Jana Novotna in 1993 at Wimbledon, where the duchess was a regular. As The New York Times wrote at the time, Novotna “cried on the well-tailored shoulder of the Duchess of Kent.”
Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley was born on Feb. 22, 1933, in Hovingham in Yorkshire, England, the daughter of Sir William Worsley, a wealthy landowner, and Joyce Morgan Brunner.
Duchess of Kent, Britain’s oldest royal who secretly worked as teacher, dies aged 92
Britain’s Duchess of Kent has died aged 92, Buckingham Palace said. She was married to Prince Edward, first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II. She became the oldest living member of the royal family following the death of Elizabeth in September 2022. The Archbishop of York paid tribute to the duchess as “an advocate for children and young people’s welfare” The Union Jack flag at Buckingham Palace was lowered to half-mast at midday as a mark of respect to the late duc Duchess.. She also made headlines when she spoke out about an abortion after contracting rubella while pregnant and a later stillbirth.
The duchess, a talented pianist, organist and singer, was born Katharine Worsley into an aristocratic family in Yorkshire, northern England.
She was married in 1961 to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, who is a first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II and remains, at 89, a working member of the royal family.
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The couple led separate lives but did not divorce. They have three surviving children.
“It is with deep sorrow that Buckingham Palace announces the death of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent,” the royal family said in a statement.
“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,” it added.
The duchess, who converted to Catholicism in 1994, became the oldest living member of the royal family following the death of Elizabeth in September 2022.
For many years she presented the trophies to winners at Wimbledon, famously consoling the late Jana Novotna when the latter broke down after losing the ladies’ final to Steffi Graf in 1993.
She also made headlines when she spoke out about the severe depression she suffered following an abortion after contracting rubella while pregnant and a later stillbirth.
Music teacher
After scaling back her royal duties in 2002, she secretly taught music for 13 years at a state primary school in northeastern England where only the headteacher knew who she was.
“There was no publicity about it at all — it just seemed to work,” she told the Daily Telegraph in 2022.
The duchess died on Thursday evening at Kensington Palace in west London surrounded by members of her family, Buckingham Palace added.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said she had brought “compassion, dignity and a human touch to everything she did”.
“For many years, she was one of our hardest working royals — supporting our late Queen Elizabeth II.
“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,” he added.
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, paid tribute to the duchess as “an advocate for children and young people’s welfare” who had “taught and encouraged generations of young musicians”.
The Union Jack flag at Buckingham Palace was lowered to half-mast at midday as a mark of respect.
British royal Katharine, Duchess of Kent, dead at 92
Katharine, the Duchess of Kent, has died at the age of 92. She was married to the late Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, Prince Edward.
The Duchess of Kent was married to the late Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, Prince Edward.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Royal family LIVE: Duchess of Kent’s charity among those paying tribute following her death
Tributes are still coming in from the royal family after the death of the Duchess of Kent. “Our thoughts today are with The Duke of Kent and his family, particularly George, Helen and Nicholas,” it read.
“Our thoughts today are with The Duke of Kent and his family, particularly George, Helen and Nicholas,” it read.
Read their full statement here, along with the other tributes.