King Charles and Queen Camilla led the Royal Family today in a Service of Thanksgiving commemorating the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day.
They were joined by several senior royals, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Anne, and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, all of whom gathered to pay tribute on this significant occasion.
Also in attendance were the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent. At 89, the Duke of Kent is the oldest male member of the Royal Family and has devoted his life to royal service. Despite his age, he remains an active participant in public duties and regularly joins other royals at various engagements.
What’s particularly noteworthy is how different his wife’s life has been. While the Duke of Kent continues to appear in the public eye, the Duchess of Kent lives a very private and modest life. She hasn’t taken part in a public royal event in more than a decade.
Born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley in 1933, she became part of the Royal Family when she married Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, in 1961. The couple has three children—George, Earl of St Andrews; Lady Helen Taylor; and Lord Nicholas Windsor—and are grandparents to ten.
For many years, the Duchess was a prominent royal figure.
She represented the Crown at major international events, including the coronation of the King of Tonga in 1967 and the Ugandan independence celebrations. In 2002, she chose to step away from royal duties and voluntarily stopped using the style “Her Royal Highness” to enjoy greater personal freedom.
Incredibly, during this quieter chapter of her life, she worked anonymously as a music teacher at Wansbeck Primary School in Hull for 13 years. After visiting the school in 1996, she was inspired to support its arts program and became a beloved part of its staff.
Though she has made occasional appearances at family events, such as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in 2018, her last official royal engagement was the Trooping the Colour ceremony in 2013. She did not attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral or King Charles’s coronation.
Her most recent public sighting was in 2024, when she was photographed at Wren House, their Kensington Palace residence, during a birthday tribute to the Duke of Kent by members of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.
