The Duchess of Kent’s mourning grandchildren appeared sombre as they attended a vigil in honour of the late royal on Monday.
The Duchess’s coffin was carried in a royal hearse, designed by Queen Elizabeth, from her home in Kensington to Westminster Cathedral for a private vigil with her immediate family.
Katharine – or Mrs Kent as she preferred to be called in her no-nonsense, down-to-earth Yorkshire way – passed away aged 92 on September 4 after a period of ill-health.
Buckingham Palace announced that she died ‘peacefully’ at Kensington Palace, surrounded by her loved ones.
Her coffin has rested in the private chapel at Kensington Palace since her passing to allow members of the family to pay their respects privately.
Earlier today, it was movingly proceeded on departure from the royal residence that had been her home, by a lone Piper from The Royal Dragoon Guards, of which she had been Deputy Colonel-in-Chief since its inception in 1992.
Among those mourning the late royal were her grandchildren. As one of the most popular royals of her generation, it’s perhaps of little surprise that Katharine was grandmother to some of the Royal Family’s most charming – though many prefer to stay out of the spotlight.
Katharine, with her husband, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, had three children: George Windsor, the Earl of St Andrews, Lady Helen Taylor and Lord Nicholas Windsor.
Sixty-one-year-old Helen is mother to her four children with husband Timothy Taylor, Columbus Taylor, 31, Cassius Taylor, 28, otherwise known as the ‘bad boy royal’, Eloise Olivia Katherine Taylor, 22, and Estella Taylor, 20.
Meanwhile, Helen’s younger brother Lord Nicholas Windsor, 55, is the father of two sons, Albert Windsor, 17, and Leopold Windsor, 15.
The oldest of Katharine’s children, George Windsor, the Earl of St Andrews, has three children: Edward Windsor, 36, Lady Marina Charlotte Windsor, 32, and Lady Amelia Windsor, 30.
Both Amelia and Marina were dressed in black for the vigil, as they paid their respects to their late grandmother.
Lord Nicholas was seen at the back of a minibus which was carrying her grandchildren and the Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. The Prince, 83, is the Duke of Kent’s brother.
The Duke of Kent’s sister, Princess Alexandra, 88, also arrived by taxi and in a wheelchair. The Duke of Kent is now the oldest living member of the Royal Family following the death of his wife.
Following Katharine’s death, several of her grandchildren posted tributes on social media, with Lady Amelia sharing a vintage monochrome photograph of her grandmother, along with a red love heart.
Others, such as Lady Marina, shared several glamorous photographs of the late royal in her youth, including graceful snaps captured on her wedding day in 1961.
The 32-year-old, who is one of Katharine’s 10 grandchildren, wrote: ‘Rest in peace my amazing and beloved Amama [grandmother], we will miss and love you so much always and thank you to everyone who has sent such kind and touching messages, sending lots of love to all.’
Other pictures including the Duchess dressed in a yellow ensemble, cuddling a koala bear, along with a more recent snap of her dressed in a more casual white shirt and jeans combination, standing in a doorway.
Lady Marina also shared an Instagram story that said: ‘My amazing Amama, I love you always and forever and more than words could ever say.
‘Thank you for everything, all the deep love, special friendship, giggles and hugs, I will miss you so much and you will always be in my heart.’
Katharine became the oldest living member of the Royal Family when Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022.
The wife of the Duke of Kent, cousin of Queen Elizabeth and grandson of King George V was universally admired for her beauty and elegance.
However she was equally renowned for her compassion and dignity, seeking permission from the late Queen to convert to Catholicism and give up full-time royal duties following a series of personal tragedies to work as a music teacher in a Hull primary school.
She also founded a charity, Future Talent, to support some of the country’s brightest but under-supported musical prodigies.
After leaving Kensington Palace earlier today, her coffin arrived at Westminster Cathedral for a series of private funeral rites, ahead of the requiem mass tomorrow.
Having travelled the three miles from the royal residence, the Royal Hearse arrived shortly before 5pm, the sun shining brightly as the Union flag flew at half mast.
Her coffin, covered in the royal standard, differentiated from other senior royals by its white border, was accompanied by members of her immediate family.
Service personnel from the Royal Dragoon Guards, a regiment the duchess supported as deputy Colonel-in-Chief since its inception in 1992, formed the bearer party.
Earlier, a lone piper from the same regiment led the Duchess of Kent’s coffin as she left Kensington Palace for the final time.
The musician played as it travelled the short distance from the royal residence to the main road, before the Royal Hearse made its way to Westminster Cathedral via police convoy.
Close friends and family started arriving at the cathedral some 20 minutes before the arrival of the coffin.
The requiem mass, a Catholic funeral, will be held tomorrow, falling 12 days after Katharine died peacefully at home, surrounded by her family.
It will be attended by the King, Queen and other senior royals, marking the first Catholic funeral service held for a member of the royal family in modern British history.
The funeral rites on Monday evening included a Vigil for the Deceased, Rite of Reception, which usually involves the coffin being sprinkled with holy water, and evening prayers known as Vespers will be taken by Bishop James Curry, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster and Titular Bishop of Ramsbury.
The sombre event is usually marked by prayers, music, hymns and tributes.
Katharine, wife of the late Queen’s cousin the Duke of Kent, converted to Catholicism in 1994.
A devout follower of the Roman Catholic faith, the duchess became the first member of the royal family to convert to Catholicism in more than 300 years. Her husband did not convert, so he remained in the line of succession.
The Duchess of Kent is survived by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and their three children.
