Katharine, the Duchess of Kent, has died. She was 92.
“It is with deep sorrow that Buckingham Palace announces the death of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent,” a palace statement shared with Us Weekly on Friday, September 5, reads. “Her Royal Highness passed away peacefully last night at Kensington Palace, surrounded by her family.”
King Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, also offered their condolences.
“The King and Queen and all Members of The Royal Family join The Duke of Kent, his children and grandchildren in mourning their loss,” the statement added. “[They are] remembering fondly The Duchess’s life-long devotion to all the organizations with which she was associated, her passion for music and her empathy for young people.”
Katharine, who has not been a working royal since 2002, is survived by husband Prince Edward, their three children and 10 grandchildren.
Prince William and his wife, Princess Kate Middleton, also released a statement on Friday.
“Our thoughts today are with The Duke of Kent and his family,” the Prince and Princess of Wales, both 43, wrote in a statement shared via social media. “The Duchess worked tirelessly to help others and supported many causes, including through her love of music. She will be a much missed member of the family.”
Katharine and Edward, now 89, met when the duke was stationed at a military base in Yorkshire, England. They wed in 1961.
While Katharine had long kept a private life, she made history in 1994 when she was the first member of the royal family to convert to Catholicism. (Most members of the royal family belong to the Church of England.)
“I do love guidelines and the Catholic Church offers you guidelines,” she told the BBC at the time. “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.”
Katharine worked as a music teacher after resigning from her royal duties in the early 2000s.
“I was just known as Mrs. Kent,” she recalled to The Telegraph in 2022. “Only the head [at the school] 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.”
Katharine further revealed that she had the late Queen Elizabeth II’s blessing to work as a schoolteacher.
“There was nothing that I felt I wanted to hide away from. It was just something that happened in my life,” she told the outlet. “I was supported through it as well. The Queen said, ‘Yes, go and do it,’ so I did.”
Katharine also cofounded Future Talent, a nonprofit benefitting young musicians from underprivileged backgrounds across the United Kingdom, in 2004.
