The celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee this weekend has naturally piqued interest in some of the less well known members of the royal family, and especially those who’ve been out of the limelight in recent years. Katharine the Duchess of Kent, however, was once considered one of the most fashionable women in the world and regularly topped lists that said as much.
She had an incredible passion for music and was the director of the National Foundation for Youth Music between 1999 and 2007, as well as serving as president of the Royal Northern College of Music. The Duchess of Kent also attracted some controversy in 1994 by becoming the first member of the royal family to publicly convert to Catholicism since King Charles II more than 300 years previously.
She told the BBC: "I do love guidelines and the Catholic Church offers you guidelines. I have always wanted that in my life. I like to know what's expected of me."
Read more: Which Royals will appear on the balcony for the jubilee - and which won't
Where was she born?
Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley was born in Yorkshire in 1933 and is the daughter of Sir William Arthington Worsley, 4th Baronet, who was a landowner and renowned cricketer, and Joyce Brunner. She received no formal education until the age of 10, but nonetheless gained a major passion for music and the piano, which has stayed with her throughout her life.
Katharine went on to study music at Queen’s College, Oxford, until the age of 25, and told the BBC’s Desert Island Discs programme in 1989 that it “was very sad to slowly have to give it up”. However, she did spend a period teaching music to students at Wansbeck Primary School in Kingston upon Hull and has performed in several choirs.
Who did she marry?
Katharine married the Duke of Kent in 1961, after meeting him aged 24 when he was stationed at a regiment near her home in Yorkshire. The pair have three children together, Lord Nicholas Windsor, Lady Helen Taylor and George, Earl of St Andrews and 10 grandchildren.
In 1997, the Duchess of Kent opened up about her struggles after suffering a stillbirth in 1977, saying she "had no idea how devastating such a thing could be to any woman. It has made me extremely understanding of others who suffer a stillbirth".
Is she still an active royal?
Katharine stepped back from royal duties in 1996 and later decided to stop using the title of “Her Royal Highness” in 2002. However, she has still attended several royal events since, such as the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011, and the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations in 2012.
