Buckingham Palace delivered the sad news on Friday in a statement saying: “It is with deep sorrow that Buckingham Palace announces the death of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent.”
The Duchess was born Katharine Worsley before marrying Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, in 1961. Edward, who turns 90 in October, was a cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8, 2022. Following her passing, Katharine became the oldest living member of the royal family. The Duchess was 92.
The Duchess of Kent has died
Flags on the royal residences flew at half-mast Friday in honor of the late Duchess. King Charles was notified of her death late on Thursday.
“Her Royal Highness passed away peacefully last night at Kensington Palace, surrounded by her family,” Buckingham Palace continued in their statement, revealed by People.
Although she attended several royal events, Katharine withdrew from her royal duties in 1996, dedicating her time to education. She spent a decade teaching music at a primary school in Hull, going by the name Mrs. Kent. “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,” the late Duchess told BBC Radio in 2005. In 2002, Katharine took a further step away from royal life, opting not to use the title Her Royal Highness anymore. She was, however, in attendance for some well-publicized royal occasions. She attended Prince William’s marriage to Kate Middleton and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s nuptials. Katharine was not around, however, for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II or the coronation of King Charles.
According to her royal biography, the Duchess had a realization during her teaching days that many children didn’t have enough sufficient financial support to pursue their passions. That was her motivation for founding the charity Future Talent. The organization partners with schools with the objective of “bringing music into the lives of all children, spotting talent, equipping talented children with instruments and tuition and, in exceptional cases, providing master tuition to enable them to make music their future.”
Katharine also volunteered at the Passage Night Shelter, supported a cancer hospital and travelled around the globe for UNICEF.
She leaves behind three children, George, Earl of St. Andrews, Lady Helen Windsor and Lord Nicholas Windsor.
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