Celebrations were in order for the Queen‘s extended family on Tuesday as one member marked a
birthday.
The Duchess of Kent, who is married to the monarch’s first cousin, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, turned 89 on 22 February.
Katharine Worsley has largely been retired from public life since 2001,
but she is known for her links to the world of music and has performed as a
member of several choirs.
She taught music at a primary school in East Hull and her experiences
inspired her to co-found Future Talent, which helps gifted young musicians from
low-income backgrounds flourish.
In 2002, Katharine personally decided not to use the style of Her Royal
Highness and since then she has been informally known as Katharine Kent or
Katharine, Duchess of Kent.
But the Duchess often joins her husband at formal family events such as
Trooping the Colour and the royal weddings of the Sussexes in 2018, and the Cambridges in 2011.
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The Duke and Duchess of Kent’s wedding day in 1961
Edward married Katharine on 8 June 1961 at York Minster with the bride
wearing a wedding dress designed by John Cavanagh, which was made of 237 yards
of French-made diaphanous white silk gauze and featured a 15-foot double train.
Katharine’s white tulle veil was secured with the Kent Diamond and Pearl Fringe
Tiara.
Prince Edward and Katharine have three children, George Windsor, Earl of
St Andrews, Lady Helen Taylor and Lord Nicholas Windsor, born in 1962, 1964 and
1970 respectively.
The couple, who split their time living between Wren House Kensington
Palace and Oxfordshire, also have ten grandchildren.
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The couple pictured in 2013
Edward, who is 41st in line to the throne, carries out engagements on
behalf of the Queen and is involved with over 140 charitable organizations. He
accompanied Her Majesty at Trooping the Colour in 2021, which was a
scaled-down ceremony at Windsor Castle due to the pandemic.
The Duke is also thought to have taken up the Queen’s position on the
balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office building. at last
year’s Remembrance Sunday service in London, when the monarch was forced to
pull-out last-minute due to a sprained back.
