The Duchess of Kent, the first Catholic convert in the royal family for centuries, has died aged 92, Buckingham Palace announced. She passed away peacefully on Thursday evening at her Kensington Palace home surrounded by her family.
Born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley on 22 February 1933, she married the Duke of Kent, a cousin of the late Queen, in 1961. Known for her elegant style, she was a familiar figure at Wimbledon, where she presented trophies and famously comforted a distraught Jana Novotná in 1993.
In 1994, she converted to Catholicism, the first royal to do so in over 300 years. She dropped her HRH title in 2002 and spent more than a decade teaching music in a state primary school in Hull. She also volunteered for Samaritans and founded the charity Future Talent.
The Duke and Duchess of Kent led separate lives for many years but did not divorce. After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, she was the oldest member of the royal family. Her funeral is expected to be a Catholic service at Westminster Cathedral, the first for a royal in modern British history.
