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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
Britain’s Duchess of Kent, known for her ‘human touch,’ dead at | |
92 | |
By Max Foster, Lauren Said-Moorhouse and Billy Stockwell, CNN | |
Updated: | |
9:25 AM EDT, Fri September 5, 2025 | |
Source: CNN | |
The , one of Britain’s most beloved royals, died on Thursday night at | |
age 92, surrounded by close family, Buckingham Palace announced Friday. | |
“It is with deep sorrow that Buckingham Palace announces the death of | |
Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent,” a statement from Buckingham | |
Palace said. | |
“Her Royal Highness passed away peacefully last night at Kensington | |
Palace, surrounded by her family,” the statement continued. | |
King Charles, Queen Camilla and other members of the British royal | |
family will remember the duchess for her “life-long devotion to all | |
the organisations with which she was associated, her passion for music | |
and her empathy for young people,” the palace said. | |
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer sent his “sincere condolences” | |
to the royal family following the death, calling the duchess “one of | |
our hardest working royals.” | |
“She brought compassion, dignity and a human touch to everything she | |
did,” he added. | |
The Prince and Princess of Wales said the duchess “will be a much | |
missed member of the family” in a statement posted on X. “The | |
Duchess worked tirelessly to help others and supported many causes, | |
including through her love of music,” the post said. | |
The King has approved a period of royal mourning to take place until | |
the day of her funeral. Details of the funeral and who will attend have | |
not yet been released. The Union Jack over Buckingham Palace was | |
lowered to half mast in a sign of respect following the announcement of | |
the duchess’ death, and the traditional framed announcement was | |
placed on the royal residence’s railings. | |
During this period of , members of the royal family and staff will wear | |
specific clothing until the funeral. Troops on public duties and those | |
working in the Royal Mews and Livery will wear black armbands. | |
The duchess may not be as well known as other members of the family to | |
the current generation of royal-watchers as she stepped back from royal | |
duties more than two decades ago, in 2002. However, in Britain and to | |
tennis fans worldwide she will be remembered for the part she played at | |
the Wimbledon tennis tournament., where she presented the trophy at the | |
ladies’ singles final for years. | |
Born Katharine Worsley to an aristocratic family from Yorkshire, the | |
duchess met her future husband, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, in 1956, | |
while he was stationed at a military barracks in northern England. She | |
married into the royal family five years later, in 1961. Prince Edward | |
was a cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II. | |
Following their wedding, the duchess became a working royal, | |
volunteering for the Passage night shelter for the homeless, and | |
traveling the world as an ambassador for UNICEF. The couple had three | |
children, and another son who was stillborn. In 1994, she became the | |
first royal to convert to Catholicism for more than 300 years. | |
At Wimbledon, she famously cast aside royal formalities and became a | |
consoling figure for the competition’s finalists – most notably | |
comforting a devastated following the Czech star’s defeat in the 1993 | |
final. | |
Five years later, it was a different story when Novotna beat Nathalie | |
Tauziat in the final to win the title, with the duchess on hand to | |
present the trophy. | |
After stepping back from public duties in 2002, the duchess, who had a | |
deep passion for music and played the piano, organ and violin, taught | |
the subject at a primary school in Hull, northeastern England, for | |
several years. She also founded Future Talent, a charity that seeks to | |
give children equal opportunities to excel in music. | |
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