By Kate Thomas

Copyright hellomagazine

The royal family held private funeral rites for the Duchess of Kent at Westminster Cathedral, almost two weeks after her death aged 92. Leading the mourners on Monday alongside their beloved grandfather, the Duke of Kent, were Lady Amelia Windsor and Lady Marina Windsor. Katharine, the wife of the late Queen Elizbeth II’s cousin, the Duke of Kent, died peacefully at home, surrounded by her family, on the evening of September 4. Clad in a smart, black wool coat and softly draped flares, Lady Amelia shielded her eyes behind a pair of cat-eye sunglasses as she made her way into the service. Lady Marina, meanwhile, wrapped up warm in a high-neck velvet jacket, pleated midi skirt, and bow-embellished brogues.

They were also joined by their brother Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick. The trio, who are the children of George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews and Sylvana Tomaselli, arrived alongside their immediate family members, including Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, Princess Alexandra, and Lady Gabriella Windsor, to pay their respects and watch the coffin procession from Kensington Palace to Westminster Cathedral. The coffin will now rest overnight in the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary ahead of tomorrow’s main service.

Family service

The Duchess of Kent’s coffin was transported in a Royal Hearse designed by Queen Elizabeth II herself. It followed a 15-minute journey from Kensington Palace to the cathedral, the heart of the Catholic faith in London, at 4:45 p.m. Soldiers from The Royal Dragoon Guards, a regiment she supported as deputy Colonel-in-Chief, were given the honour of carrying the coffin from the royal hearse into the place of worship.

Immediate family, including the girls’ grandfather, the Duke of Kent and their aunt Lady Helen Taylor, were welcomed by the Dean of Westminster Cathedral, Father Slawomir Witon, and watched from the cathedral steps as the pallbearers carried the coffin. The Catholic funeral tradition provides a chance for the Duchess’s body to be formally welcomed into the church where the funeral service will take place.

The rites included a Vigil for the Deceased, Rite of Reception, which typically involves the coffin being sprinkled with holy water, and evening prayers known as Vespers taken by Bishop James Curry, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster and Titular Bishop of Ramsbury. The requiem mass, a Catholic funeral, will be held on Tuesday, attended by King Charles, Queen Camilla and other senior royals, and is set to be the first Catholic funeral service held for a member of the royal family in modern history.

Remembering the Duchess of Kent

Katharine, a descendant of Oliver Cromwell, was 24 years old when she met the Duke of Kent, and the pair wed in 1961 at York Minster. 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 and Marina.

In 1994, Katharine made royal history when she converted to Catholicism, making her the first member of the royal family to convert publicly since the passing of the Act of Settlement 1701. Her husband did not convert in order to remain in the line of succession. It was her wish to have her funeral at Westminster Cathedral, marking the first royal funeral at the cathedral since its construction in 1903. She is also best known for setting up Future Talent, an organisation that supports young musicians from low-income backgrounds.

In 2002, the Duchess stepped away from royal duties and relinquished her HRH title, famously telling the BBC, “Call me Katharine”. She spent the next 13 years working 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.”