Related Articles
She is perhaps not the best known member of the Royal Family.
But the Duchess of Kent has nevertheless remained a firm favourite, with the emergence of details about her secret double life away from royal duties helping to further endear her to the public.
Married to the the Queen’s cousin Prince Edward, The Duke of Kent for 50 years, she stepped back from formal royal duties in the 1990s, and in 2002 wrote to The Queen to rescind the ‘Her Royal Highness’ title granted to her upon marriage.
It stands in stark contrast to the more recent departure of another royal Duchess, Meghan Markle, whose interview with Oprah Winfrey has rocked the establishment.
To sign up for the Hull Live newsletter, click here.
Instead, The Duchess of Kent’s life has been one of quiet dignity and a double life with a second identity, leading her to become a teacher in the heart of Hull.
She asks that people do not refer to her as the Duchess of Kent, but Katharine Kent instead.
It was speculated at the time of her stepping back that ill health had prevent the Duchess, now 88, from attending royal engagements, but it later came to light she was teaching at a local primary school in Hull.
For over 13 years she taught at Wansbeck Primary in west Hull, where she educated children in her greatest passion – music.
After a visit to the school in 1996, she offered to help boost the school’s arts teaching and her passion project rocketed from there.
Speaking to Hull Daily Mail at the time, the Duchess said: “I’ve studied music all my life, it’s my passion.
“My other passion is children – being able to share and pass on your love of music to children is the greatest privilege a teacher can have.”
Katherine said she chose Wansbeck because she is original from Yorkshire and has a lot of connections in the county.
In an interview with the BBC, headteacher Ann Davies said: “Her enthusiasm with the children brings out the best in them and thanks to Mrs Kent music is now a strength at the school.
“She is an inspirational music teacher and the children love working with her. They say she never gets cross, she always looks for the positive.”
She added: “I believe that because they are so fond of her, they have done well in music.”
As well as teaching in Hull, the Duchess also rented out a flat in London where she taught piano lessons.
Her musical interest stared when she was very young. As a schoolgirl, she was taught to play the piano, the violin and the organ, and narrowly missed out on a place at the Royal Academy of Music.
The duchess has three children with her husband, the Duke of Kent – George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, Lady Helen Taylor and Lord Nicholas Windsor.
However, following the stillbirth of her fourth child, in 1977, she suffered recurrent health problems. After a traumatic 36-hour battle to save her son’s life, which ultimately failed, the Duchess was overwhelmed with grief.
Public appearances became even rarer following her decision to convert to Catholicism in 1994, the first senior royal to convert publicly since the passing of the 1701 Act of Settlement.
However, it was then revealed the duchess had in fact been busy working with UNICEF and then in Hull.
The Duchess now has her own music charity called Future Talent – an organisation aiming to help gifted children develop their musical talents.
The royal taught children who lived at Grenfell Tower, many of them losing classmates and family members in the devastating blaze that killed 72 people.
