Katharine, Duchess of Kent, died peacefully at age 92 on September 4, 2025, at Kensington Palace surrounded by her family, Buckingham Palace announced Friday. She was the oldest living member of the British royal family since Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022.
The King has approved a period of royal mourning until her funeral, with flags at Buckingham Palace lowered to half-mast and a framed death notice placed on the palace railings. Her funeral is expected within a week.
William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales, led tributes, calling her a “much missed member of the family” who “worked tirelessly to help others and supported many causes, including through her love of music.” Their message was signed “W & C.”
Born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley in Yorkshire in 1933, she married Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II) in 1961 at York Minster – the first royal wedding there in over 600 years.
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To most people, the Duchess was known for presenting trophies at Wimbledon. She famously consoled Czech player Jana Novotna after her devastating loss in the 1993 final, an act of compassion captured by cameras worldwide. Five years later, she presented Novotna with the championship trophy when she finally won.
In 1994, she became the first member of the royal family to convert to Catholicism since the Act of Settlement in 1701, a significant historical moment.
The Duchess stepped away from royal duties in 2002, asking to be known simply as “Katharine Kent” rather than using her “Her Royal Highness” title. She quietly became a music teacher at Wansbeck Primary School in Hull, where only the headteacher knew her royal identity. “I was just known as Mrs Kent,” she once said. “The parents didn’t know and the pupils didn’t know.”
In 2004, she co-founded Future Talent, a charity supporting young musicians from low-income backgrounds. Music remained her lifelong passion – she played piano, violin and organ, and in a 2022 interview revealed her surprising love for rap music, mentioning Eminem and Ice Cube among her favorites.
The Duchess faced personal tragedies, including a medical termination in 1975 after contracting German measles and a stillborn son in 1977, which she said led to severe depression.
She is survived by her husband, the Duke of Kent, their three children – George, Earl of St Andrews; Lady Helen Taylor; and Lord Nicholas Windsor – and ten grandchildren.
Her last public appearance was in October 2024, when she was seen in a wheelchair celebrating her husband’s 89th birthday at their Kensington Palace home.
