by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2014
Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent, wife of Prince Edward, The Duke of Kent, was born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley on February 22, 1933, at Hovington Hall in Yorkshire, England, the Worsley family home. She is the daughter of Sir William Arthington Worsley, 4th Baronet and Joyce Morgan Brunner.
Katharine had three older brothers:
- Sir (William) Marcus John Worsley, 5th Baronet (1925 – 2012)
- (George) Oliver Worsley (1927 – 2010)
- John Arthington Worsley (1928 – 2022)
Following her education at St Margaret’s School in York, England and Runton Hill School in Norfolk, England, Katharine worked in a children’s home in York and taught in a kindergarten in London. After failing to gain entry into the Royal Academy of Music, she studied at Miss Hubler’s Finishing School in Oxford. From an early age, Katharine had a talent for music and learned to play the piano, organ, and violin.
In 1956, Katharine met her future husband, Prince Edward, The Duke of Kent, while he was stationed at Catterick Garrison, near Richmond, England. They married on June 8, 1961, at York Minster in York, England. Her bridesmaids included Princess Anne, and Jane Spencer, the elder sister of Diana, Princess of Wales.
The Duke and Duchess of Kent had three children:
- George Philip Nicholas Windsor, Earl of St Andrews (1962) – married Sylvana Tomaselli in 1988, had three children
- Lady Helen Marina Lucy Taylor (1964) – married Timothy Taylor in 1992, had four children
- Columbus George Donald Taylor (born 1994)
- Cassius Edward Taylor (born 1996)
- Eloise Olivia Katherine Taylor (born 2003)
- Estella Olga Elizabeth Taylor (born 2004)
- Lord Nicholas Charles Edward Jonathan Windsor (1970) – married Paola de Frankopan in 2006, had three children
- Albert Louis Philip Edward Windsor (born 2007)
- Leopold Ernest Augustus Guelph Windsor (born 2009)
- Louis Arthur Nicholas Felix Windsor (born 2014)
The couple also had a stillborn child born in 1977. The Duchess of Kent suffered severe depression, something which she has spoken about publicly.
The family lived at Coppins, in Buckinghamshire, England until 1972, when they moved to York House at St James’ Palace in London, England. Since 1996, they have lived at Wren House on the grounds of Kensington Palace in London, England. They also have a country house, The Old Forge, in Oxfordshire, England which they purchased in 2002.
In 1994, the Duchess converted to Catholicism, the first senior member of the royal family to convert publicly since the enactment of the Act of Settlement in 1701. One of her children and several of her grandchildren have also become Catholic.
Some of the organizations the Duchess was associated with include:
- Patron, Making Music (the National Federation of Music Societies)
- Trustee, The National Foundation for Youth Music, London
- President and Board Member, The Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester
- Ambassador, Aldeburgh Productions, in Suffolk
- Patron, RUC Benevolent Fund in Northern Ireland
- President, NCH Action for Children
- President and Board Member, Macmillan Cancer Research
- UNICEF
- VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas)
Venus Williams receives the trophy from the Duchess of Kent as the Duke of Kent looks on after winning the Women’s Singles Final of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships in 2001
The Duchess of Kent was known for presenting the women’s singles trophies at the annual Wimbledon Championships from the 1970s to 2001. With her warm-hearted and informal demeanor, such as her comforting hug to Jana Novotná on Center Court, who had lost to Steffi Graf in 1993, the Duchess won many admirers. After the 2001 Wimbledon Championships, the Duchess gave up her official role at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships as part of her withdrawal from public life.
In 2002, she reduced her public role and asked to be known as Katherine, Duchess of Kent (a style typically used for one widowed or divorced). However, formally she remains HRH The Duchess of Kent. She began teaching music at Wansbeck Primary School in Kingston upon Hull. She also purchased an apartment in Notting Hill where she taught music lessons. She supported organizations relating to music and music education. In 2004, she co-founded Future Talent, a children’s music charity established to find, fund, and nurture talented musicians in the United Kingdom.
The Duchess has not been seen in public recently. She did not attend the 2021 funeral of Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, the 2022 funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, or the 2023 coronation of King Charles III although her husband did attend all three.
The Duke and Duchess of Kent attend a service for the national minute of silence and mosaic unveiling at the base of Grenfell Tower as part of commemorations on the one-year anniversary of the Grenfell Tower block fire in west London, 2018
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