The royal circle of relatives held non-public funeral rites for the Duchess of Kent at Westminster Cathedral, virtually two weeks after her demise elderly 92. Main the mourners on Monday along their liked grandfather, the Duke of Kent, had been Girl Amelia Windsor and Girl Marina Windsor. Katharine, the spouse of the overdue Queen Elizbeth II’s cousin, the Duke of Kent, died peacefully at house, surrounded by way of her circle of relatives, at the night of September 4. Clad in a wise, black wool coat and softly draped flares, Girl Amelia shielded her eyes in the back of a couple of cat-eye sun shades as she made her method into the provider. Girl Marina, in the meantime, wrapped up heat in a high-neck velvet jacket, pleated midi skirt, and bow-embellished brogues.
They had been additionally joined by way of their brother Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick. The trio, who’re the kids of George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews and Sylvana Tomaselli, arrived along their rapid members of the family, together with Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, Princess Alexandra, and Girl Gabriella Windsor, to pay their respects and watch the coffin procession from Kensington Palace to Westminster Cathedral. The coffin will now leisure in a single day within the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary forward of day after today’s primary provider.
Circle of relatives provider
The Duchess of Kent’s coffin was once transported in a Royal Hearse designed by way of Queen Elizabeth II herself. It adopted a 15-minute adventure from Kensington Palace to the cathedral, the center of the Catholic religion in London, at 4:45 p.m. Squaddies from The Royal Dragoon Guards, a regiment she supported as deputy Colonel-in-Leader, got the honor of sporting the coffin from the royal hearse into where of worship.
Instant circle of relatives, together with the ladies’ grandfather, the Duke of Kent and their aunt Girl Helen Taylor, had been welcomed by way of the Dean of Westminster Cathedral, Father Slawomir Witon, and watched from the cathedral steps because the pallbearers carried the coffin. The Catholic funeral custom supplies an opportunity for the Duchess’s frame to be officially welcomed into the church the place the funeral provider will happen.
The rites incorporated a Vigil for the Deceased, Ceremony of Reception, which generally comes to the coffin being sprinkled with holy water, and night prayers referred to as Vespers taken by way of Bishop James Curry, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster and Titular Bishop of Ramsbury. The requiem mass, a Catholic funeral, will probably be hung on Tuesday, attended by way of King Charles, Queen Camilla and different senior royals, and is about to be the primary Catholic funeral provider held for a member of the royal circle of relatives in trendy historical past.
© Max Mumby
© Max MumbyRemembering the Duchess of Kent
Katharine, a descendant of Oliver Cromwell, was once 24 years outdated when she met the Duke of Kent, and the pair wed in 1961 at York Minster. The couple went directly to welcome 3 kids: George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, Girl Helen Taylor and Lord Nicholas Windsor, born in 1962, 1964 and 1970, respectively. The pair additionally had ten grandchildren, together with Girl Amelia and Marina.
In 1994, Katharine made royal historical past when she transformed to Catholicism, making her the primary member of the royal circle of relatives to transform publicly for the reason that passing of the Act of Agreement 1701. Her husband didn’t convert with the intention to stay within the line of succession. It was once her need to have her funeral at Westminster Cathedral, marking the primary royal funeral on the cathedral since its building in 1903. She could also be best possible identified for putting in place Long term Skill, an organisation that helps younger musicians from low-income backgrounds.
© Getty PhotographsIn 2002, the Duchess stepped clear of royal tasks and relinquished her HRH name, famously telling the BBC, “Name me Katharine”. She spent the following 13 years running as a song trainer on the Wansbeck Number one Faculty in Hull. “I used to be simply referred to as Mrs Kent,” she informed The Telegraph in 2022. “Best the top knew who I used to be. The oldsters did not know and the pupils didn’t know. Nobody ever spotted. There was once no exposure about it in any respect – it simply looked as if it would paintings.”
