The royal family is in mourning following the death of the Duchess of Kent, who has passed away aged 92. Katharine Worsley was the wife of the late Queen Elizabeth II's cousin, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, 89, who still carries out royal duties. The couple shared three children, George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, Lady Helen Taylor and Lord Nicholas Windsor, as well as ten grandchildren.
Born in the sprawling Yorkshire estate of Hovingham Hall in 1933, Katharine was the fourth child and only daughter of Sir William Worsley, the fourth Baronet, who captained the Yorkshire Cricket Club Team and was also President of the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club. For 14 years, he held the title of Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding of Yorkshire. Her mother was Joyce Morgan Brunner, the daughter of chemical industrialist and Liberal Party politician Sir John Brunner, 1st Baronet.
Katharine was also a descendant of Oliver Cromwell. She grew up in the sprawling Yorkshire estate of Hovingham Hall with her parents and brother, Sir Marcus Worsley, 5th Baronet, who went on to enjoy a successful career as a Conservative Party politician. Katharine was educated at Queen Margaret's School in York, and at Runton Hill School in North Norfolk, where she found her passion for music and learned to play the piano, organ and violin.
Katharine's marriage to the Duke of Kent
The royal was 24 years old when she met the Duke of Kent. The pair first crossed paths while Edward was living at Catterick Camp, an English military base. Their wedding was held in 1961 at York Minster, marking the first royal marriage to take place at the seventh-century building in 633 years. Katharine wore a wedding dress designed by John Cavanagh for the ceremony, accessorising with the Kent Diamond and Pearl Fringe Tiara.
The couple went on to welcome three children: George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, Lady Helen Taylor and Lord Nicholas Windsor, born in 1962, 1964 and 1970 respectively. The pair also had ten grandchildren, including Lady Amelia Windsor and Lady Marina Windsor.
Making royal history
In 1994, Katharine made royal history when she converted to Catholicism and is the first member of the royal family to convert publicly since the passing of the Act of Settlement 1701. "I do love guidelines and the Catholic Church offers you guidelines. I have always wanted that in my life. I like to know what's expected of me. I like being told: You shall go to church on Sunday and if you don’t you’re in for it!" she previously told the BBC.
© GettyStepping down from royal duties and teaching career
In 2002, the Duchess stepped away from royal duties and dispensed with her HRH title, famously telling the BBC, "Call me Katharine". She spent the next 13 years as a music teacher at the Wansbeck Primary School in Hull.
"I was just known as Mrs Kent," she told The Telegraph in 2022. "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."
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© GettyWhile teaching at the school, the Duchess saw first-hand how musically gifted children were being held back from a career in music due to financial instability and limited guidance. Then in 2004, Katharine co-founded the charity Future Talent, which creates opportunities for young musicians across the UK. Before her death, the Duke and Duchess of Kent split their time living between Wren House at Kensington Palace and Oxfordshire.
