first Catholic funeral for Royal Family in modern history

Sean CoughlanRoyal correspondentReutersThe Duchess of Kent was praised for her kindness and curiosity in musicThe funeral of the Duchess of Kent will likely be held at Westminster Cathedral on 16 September, with the King and Queen among the many senior royals who will likely be in attendance, Buckingham Palace has introduced.The duchess, Katharine, died on Thursday aged 92, prompting tributes for her kindness and help for tennis and music – together with working as a major faculty music instructor.The duchess was a Catholic and there will likely be a Requiem Mass for her funeral, which would be the first Catholic funeral for a member of the Royal Household in fashionable historical past.Will probably be a personal household service, after which the coffin will likely be taken to the royal burial floor in Frogmore in Windsor.The duchess, who had been the oldest member of the Royal Household, died in Kensington Palace and her coffin will stay within the chapel there till the night earlier than the funeral, when she will likely be dropped at Westminster Cathedral.Within the Catholic custom, there will likely be a service to mark the reception of the coffin into the cathedral, attended by her shut household, with the duchess being survived by her husband, the Duke of Kent, and their two sons and a daughter.The coffin will stay within the Woman Chapel in a single day, earlier than the funeral the next day. This primary royal funeral at Westminster Cathedral, at 2pm on Tuesday 16 September, will likely be presided over by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, with the Anglican Dean of Windsor collaborating, earlier than accompanying the coffin to Frogmore.Prince Harry will likely be within the UK subsequent week for charity occasions, however it’s not recognized if he would keep for the funeral, which is predicted to be attended by many senior royals.The Prince and Princess of Wales stated she could be a “a lot missed member of the household” who had “labored tirelessly to assist others and supported many causes, together with via her love of music”.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stated the Duchess of Kent introduced “compassion, dignity and a human contact to every little thing she did”.The duchess supported music charities and taught music at a Hull major faculty, the place pupils knew nothing of the royal background of “Mrs Kent”.She will likely be remembered as a well-known determine on the Wimbledon tennis championships, the place she handed over trophies – and consoled those that had misplaced, famously together with a tearful Jana Novotna in 1993.Tennis participant Martina Navratilova posted a tribute with an image of herself and the duchess at Wimbledon, saying it was “wonderful what number of hundreds of thousands of individuals across the globe she affected in a optimistic means”.The duchess, who stepped again from her royal life in her later years, had supported charities together with Childline and the Passage, which helps homeless individuals, based mostly in Westminster not removed from the place her funeral will likely be held later this month.