The Duchess of Kent's coffin arrived at Westminster Cathedral on Monday evening for private funeral rites ahead of Tuesday's requiem mass. The royal hearse made the three-mile journey from Kensington Palace, reaching the cathedral just before 5pm, as the Union flag flew at half-mast.
The coffin, draped in the Royal Standard for family members with a white border, was carried by a bearer party from the Royal Dragoon Guards, whom the Duchess had supported as deputy Colonel-in-Chief since 1992. A lone piper from the same regiment played a sombre lament as the coffin left Kensington Palace for the final time.
Close friends and family began arriving about twenty minutes before the coffin, with Prince and Princess Michael of Kent arriving separately and Princess Alexandra in a wheelchair. The Duke of Kent, leaning on a walking stick, greeted the dean of Westminster Cathedral as his wife's coffin was carried inside.
Monday evening's rites included a Vigil for the Deceased, the sprinkling of holy water during the Rite of Reception, and Vespers led by Bishop James Curry. The requiem mass on Tuesday will be attended by the King, Queen and senior royals, marking the first Catholic funeral for a member of the royal family in modern British history.
Katharine, who died peacefully at home on 4 September aged 92, converted to Catholicism in 1994 — the first royal to do so in more than 300 years. Her husband, the Duke of Kent, did not convert and remains in the line of succession. The funeral at Westminster Cathedral is the first royal funeral held there since its construction in 1903.
