By Steven Smith
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The Prince and Princess of Wales are set to attend the Duchess of Kent’s Catholic funeral later today, as confirmed by Kensington Palace this morning. The service, taking place at Westminster Cathedral, will be attended by the King and Queen along with other members of the Royal family.
This requiem mass marks the first Catholic funeral for a member of the monarchy in modern British history. It will feature a Scottish bagpipe lament that was performed during Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022.
A piper from The Royal Dragoon Guards will play the lament – Sleep, Dearie, Sleep – while processing from the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary, past the duchess’s coffin in the Nave and down the cathedral’s central aisle.
The same tune was played at the late Queen’s funeral service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Katharine, the wife of the late Queen’s cousin the Duke of Kent, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by her family, on the evening of 4 September at the age of 92.
A devout Roman Catholic, the duchess became the first member of the Royal family to convert to Catholicism in over 300 years, doing so in 1994. It was her wish to have her funeral at Westminster Cathedral.
Charles and Camilla are expected to be joined by senior members of the Royal family at the mass, as well as the duchess’s immediate family and her friends.
Her coffin, a wicker creation crafted from English willow, is adorned with the Royal standard featuring a white ermine border, signifying her status as a prince’s spouse. A large wreath of British garden flowers, handpicked by the duchess’s family, rests atop the coffin, including white roses symbolising Yorkshire, her birth county, and sprigs of yew from Hovingham Hall gardens, her childhood home, representing eternal life.
The Royal Dragoon Guards have played a significant role in her Catholic funeral, which traditionally spans over two days. A piper led the funeral procession, while other soldiers carried the coffin into the cathedral on Monday evening.
This marks the first Royal funeral at the cathedral, located in Victoria, central London, since its establishment in 1903.
The King isn’t the first monarch to attend a Catholic funeral; Queen Elizabeth II attended the Catholic state funeral of King Baudouin of the Belgians at St Michael’s Cathedral in Brussels in August 1993. Charles, as Prince of Wales, represented his late mother at Pope John Paul II’s funeral in 2005, while his son William attended Pope Francis’s funeral mass earlier this year.
