The Duchess of Kent has died at the age of 92, Buckingham Palace has announced with “deep sorrow”.
She “passed away peacefully last night at Kensington Palace, surrounded by her family”, a statement said on Friday, with the flag on Buckingham Palace now lowered to half mast.
The duchess, Katharine, was the oldest member of the Royal Family, married to Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, a first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
She will be remembered as a familiar figure at the Wimbledon tennis championships, where she handed over trophies – and consoled those who had lost, famously including a tearful Jana Novotna in 1993.
“The King and Queen and all members of the Royal Family join the Duke of Kent, his children and grandchildren in mourning their loss and remembering fondly the duchess’s life-long devotion to all the organisations with which she was associated, her passion for music and her empathy for young people,” said the Palace, in a statement announcing her death.
The duchess was a great music lover – supporting music charities and teaching music in a Hull primary school, where pupils knew nothing of her royal identity, and where she was known as “Mrs Kent”.
Perhaps the most familiar images of the duchess are from her appearances at Wimbledon, where she was regularly seen watching the tennis and stepping on to the court to give out prizes.
She gave a shoulder to cry on to the defeated Novotna – but five years later was there to hand over the trophy to the Czech tennis star.
The duchess also spoke of her deep sadness at the 49-year-old Novotna’s death from cancer in 2017.
It was claimed that the duchess later fell out with Wimbledon authorities over her attempt to bring the 12-year-old son of a bereaved friend into the Royal Box. (BBC)
