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Katharine Duchess of Kent from the Queensland State Archives via Wikimedia Commons |
Six centuries had passed since a royal wedding was held at York Minster. As five future monarchs and representatives from eight royal families gathered at the church, a shy young local woman arrived on her father's arm to become the first untitled woman to become a British Royal Highness in centuries. Her very grand mother-in-law is said to have disapproved of the love match. Princess Marina, the widowed Duchess of Kent, was the granddaughter of a Greek King and great-granddaughter of a Danish King and Russian Czar. Her late husband was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria and the youngest surviving child of King George V. Her new daughter-in-law's grandfathers were mere baronets.
Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley was born in 1933 at her father's ancestral estate of Hovingham Hall in North Yorkshire. The only daughter of Sir William Worsley 4th Baronet and Joyce Brunner, she grew up in the countryside and did not attend school until the age of 10. In the midst of World War II, the lonely young girl was sent to Queen Margaret's School just outside of Kent. There she discovered a love of music that would come to define her life. Her musical talent led her to apply for the Royal Academy of Music but she failed to gain admission. Instead, she went to a finishing school for young ladies, living with her older brothers who were students at nearby Oxford University.
Katharine's parents helped her secure work as a nursery school teacher and she became a fixture on the local social scene, which welcomed a Prince into its midst when The Queen's younger cousin was based at Camp Catterick as part of his Army service.
Born in 1935, Prince Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick was sixth in line to the throne at the time of his birth. He was still in the top ten when he met the blonde beauty who would become his wife. Edward's father, Prince George The Duke of Kent was the last British Prince to marry a royal when he wed Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark in 1934. After Edward, the couple welcomed two more children, Princess Alexandra and Prince Michael. Like so many families, the Kents met tragedy in World War II. Prince George was killed in an airplane crash while on active duty in 1942. Six-year-old Prince Edward became the new Duke of Kent. Ten years later, the teenager represented his branch of the family as he walked behind the funeral cortege of his uncle King George VI and a year later paid homage to his cousin Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation.
By the time Edward met Katharine, he had completed his education at the same schools his first cousin twice removed Prince Harry would later attend (Ludgrove, Eton and Sandhurst) and launched what would be a 20-year career in the British Army, eventually retiring as a lieutenant colonel. His mother, who is known to have looked down upon her sisters-in-law Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Alice Duchess of Gloucester, because they were daughters of a mere earl and duke respectively, initially tried to separate the young couple. Edward was sent to Germany in hopes his ardor would cool. Meanwhile, Katharine and a friend traveled through Mexico by bus. At the end of her journey, a bouquet of flowers from Edward greeted her. Princess Marina finally accepted the inevitable and announced the couple's engagement.
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They were married on June 8, 1961. Katharine became not just Royal Highness but also an Army wife, following her husband to postings in Hong Kong and Germany. Their first child, George Earl of St. Andrews, was born in June 1962. Daughter Lady Helen Windsor arrived in April 1964 as the third of four royal babies born that year. (The others were, in order of birth: James Ogilvy, son of Katharine's sister-in-law Princess Alexandra; Prince Edward Duke of Edinburgh, son of Queen Elizabeth II; and Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, daughter of Princess Margaret.) In 1970, their son Lord Nicholas was born.
The 1970s, however, turned out to be a decade of great sorrow for the quiet Duchess of Kent. She lost her fourth pregnancy in 1975 after contracting rubella. In 1977, her son Patrick was stillborn. These tragedies combined with the deaths of both of her parents heralded a very difficult period in her life. She was hospitalized with "nervous exhaustion" and later became one of the first British royals to publicly discuss her struggles with mental health.
In public, Katharine became well-known for her role at Wimbledon, awarding the Ladies' Singles championship for decades. Her royal patronages focused largely on organizations that helped the young or the elderly. And, she was always a familiar face at royal balcony appearances and royal family celebrations. Privately, she was a well-loved member of the extended British Royal Family, participating in royal Christmas with the Queen until the family became too large to gather together in one palatial estate.
However, Katharine's mental and physical health took its toll. In addition to the depression she had suffered, she also struggled with the Epstein-Barr virus, myalgic encephalomyelitis (chronic fatigue syndrome) and celiac disease. Already introspective, she turned to religion to cope and eventually made the decision to convert to Catholicism in 1994. Under the laws of succession at the time, her husband might have lost his place in the Line of Succession for being married to a Catholic. Queen Elizabeth, in a show of love and support for her cousins, decided that this rule would not apply because Katharine was not Catholic at the time of their marriage. Besides being a cherished family member, the Kents had also proven themselves as excellent "working royals", carrying on royal duties well past the age when other Britons retire. Later, her youngest son and two of her grandchildren also converted and surrendered their places in the Line of Succession, which still bars actual Catholics but not the spouses of Catholics.
By 2002, after 40 years as a royal, Katharine decided to discontinue use of "Her Royal Highness." Always modest, she has already ended the tradition of making Wimbledon competitors genuflect to the royal box. By the time she was in 70s, she had withdrawn from royal duties, appearing only on large ceremonial occasions or public family events.
Instead, she focused on her love of music. Throughout her life, she had continued to pursue her own musical interests, including singing in several choirs. In her "retirement", she became a music teacher at a primary school where only the headmistress knew who "Mrs. Kent" really was. She also opened her own small music studio teaching private lessons. In 2004, she co-founded Future Talent, a private organization that provides instruments, lessons, and other opportunities to children from low-income backgrounds.
Largely absent from public life, Katharine's last royal appearance was as a guest at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018. She was one of the few guests invited to Prince Philip's covid-era funeral in 2021. The death of Queen Elizabeth in 2022 left Katharine as the oldest living member of the British Royal Family, but she did not attend the funeral nor the coronation of King Charles III that followed. She was last scene seated in a wheelchair outside of the Kent's home at Wren Cottage, Kensington Palace, as her husband received birthday greetings on October 9, 2024.
Katharine Kent, or HRH The Duchess of Kent, passed away peacefully at home at the age of 92 on September 4, 2025. Her funeral will be held at Westminster Cathedral on September 16. It will be the first Catholic funeral in the royal family in centuries. She will then join her husband's parents and other members of the extended royal family in the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore, Windsor.
In addition to her 89-year-old husband, who is now the oldest living member of the British Royal Family, she is survived by her children, and 10 grandchildren. Born between 1989 and 2014, the grandchildren are Edward Baron Downpatrick (who will eventually succeed to the Kent title after his father and grandfather), Lady Marina Windsor, Lady Amelia Windsor, Cassius Taylor, Columbus Taylor, Eloise Taylor, Estella Taylor, Albert Windsor, Leopold Windsor, and Louis Windsor.
MORE ABOUT KATHARINE DUCHESS OF KENT
Duchess of Kent: Death and Funeral on Gert's Royals
Duchess of Kent Has Died on The Royal Watcher
The Duchess of Kent's Secret Double Life on Royal Central
Fresh Fashion Forever: 90 Years of the Duchess of Kent's Elegant Style on Tatler
The Jewels of the Duchess of Kent on The Royal Watcher
Katharine Duchess of Kent: A Quiet Pearl on Timeless Pearl
The Music Loving Duchess on BBC
A Piece for the Duchess of Kent's 90th Birthday on Maddy Chassar Hesketh
Wedding of Prince Edward Duke of Kent and Katharine Worsley on Unofficial Royalty
Thank you Cheryl.
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