Meet The Duchess of Kent

Katharine Worsley is a musical Yorkshire lass who married a royal prince back in 1961. Her husband, HRH Prince Edward Duke of Kent, is a grandson of King George V and Queen Mary, and is a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. The daughter of her baronet, she had spent some time as a nursery school teacher and as a student of music prior to her marriage. Throughout most of her life as a royal, she was a full-time royal carrying out engagements on behalf of Her Majesty while raising her own family. Son George Earl of St. Andrews was born a year after the wedding, daughter Lady Helen arrived in 1964 as part of the quartet of royal babies born in Britain that year, and son Lord Nicholas was born in 1970. After that, she was devastated by a miscarriage followed by a stillbirth. She eventually converted to Catholicism, for which she received The Queen's assent. Her oldest son is married to a Catholic, her youngest son has also converted, and about half of her grandchildren are Catholic.

For decades, the Duchess of Kent was most well-known for her role in handing out the prizes at Wimbledon, but her own passion has always been music. She remained active as a choral perform and now spends most of her time as a music teacher. In fact, she prefers now to remain out of the spotlight and has asked to be addressed simply as Katharine Kent rather than as a royal highness (except of course on the rare official or family occasions that she attends).


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