Fresh Heartbreak for King Charles: 'Oldest Living Royal' the Duchess Of Kent Dies Aged 92 After Decades of Service
King Charles has suffered fresh agony after the death of the Duchess of Kent, the late Queen's first cousin, aged 92.
Sept. 5 2025, Updated 8:10 a.m. ET
King Charles and the rest of the royal family are in mourning following the death of the Duchess of Kent.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the “oldest living royal” and the late Queen’s first cousin passed away aged 92 on Thursday.
Emotional Tribute
The royal's death was announced on Friday.
Known as one of the most glamorous royals of her generation, Katharine was admired for her determination to forge her own path and life-long dedication to charity work.
And her most famous moment came in 1993 when she comforted Czech tennis star Jana Novotna as she broke down in tears on Wimbledon's Centre Court after losing to reigning champion Steffi Graf.
Memorable Moment
The Duchess of Kent famously consoled tennis ace Jana Novotna when she lost the 1993 Wimbledon final.
She died at Kensington Palace surrounded by members of her family.
The Duchess is survived by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and their three children.
Her sad passing was announced on social media by the royal family's official X account. The King, who is at Balmoral, was informed immediately.
"It is with deep sorrow that Buckingham Palace announces the death of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent," the statement said.
"Her Royal Highness passed away peacefully last night at Kensington Palace, surrounded by her family.
Funeral Planned On Harry Return
Prince Harry is expected back in the U.K. when funeral due to take place.
"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."
The cancer-stricken King has approved that Royal Mourning should take place until and including the day of the duchess’s funeral, which is expected to be in a week’s time when Prince Harry is back in the U.K.
The Duchess gave up full-time royal duties and her HRH title to pursue a life away from the spotlight in 2002.
She subsequently spent more than a decade anonymously teaching music in a school, where she was simply known as Katharine, or plain "Mrs Kent".
King Charles is expected to meet estranged son Harry next week.
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Married to Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, cousin to Queen Elizabeth, the couple have three children: George, Earl of St Andrews, Lady Helen Taylor, and Lord Nicholas Windsor and Lady Helen Taylor.
Before retiring from the Royal Family in the 1990s, Katharine was a fixture at Wimbledon for many years where she became known for presenting the Wimbledon finalists with their trophies — a role the Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, has now stepped into.
The Duchess of Kent, here with the late Princess Diana, quit royal duties in the Nineties.
A year before she famously comforted Novotna, she had become the first member of the royal family to convert to Catholicism since the Act of Settlement 1701. Since her husband the Duke of Kent did not convert, he remained in the line of succession.
She said: "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. I like being told: You shall go to church on Sunday and if you don't you're in for it."
Ten years later she asked the late Queen for permission to give up royal duties and her HRH title, a request the monarch sympathetically agreed to.
The Duchess explained that "there was nothing that I felt I wanted to hide away from… It was just something that happened in my life. I was always - I wouldn't say proud of it, but I was glad I did it. I was supported through it as well. The Queen said: 'Yes, go and do it,' so I did.'"
