It was almost three years, minus a few days, after farewelling Elizabeth II that senior royals gathered last week for another family funeral, this time for the Duchess of Kent. The sombre ceremony on September 16 was of historical significance – although without the pageantry of the late Queen’s farewell – because it was the first Catholic funeral for a member of the royal family in more than 300 years.
But what got most people talking was the family member who was missing from the proceedings and the one who caused onlookers to gasp in shock when he arrived. Queen Camilla did not attend due to illness – according to a Buckingham Palace spokesperson, she was suffering from acute sinusitis. Observers noticed the King, 76, looked a little lost without her by his side at times, but he seemed to take comfort from his daughter-in-law Catherine, Princess of Wales, 43, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
The appearance of Prince Andrew at the service came as a surprise. The crowd outside Westminster Cathedral gasped as the disgraced Duke of York arrived with his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York.
It was a rare public outing for Andrew, 65, who stepped down as a working royal thanks to his association with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and accusations made against him of sexual assault. The Epstein scandal looks set to reignite, with the US Congress reviewing more than 100 secret emails that sources say could be damaging to Andrew.
“They are embarrassing and incriminating,” says one insider.
Andrew didn’t look too troubled, however. When the royals left the emotional service, he was seen laughing as he shared a joke with Fergie, 65. He also broke into a big grin while standing next to nephew Prince William on the steps outside the church. Onlookers say William, 43, looked uncomfortable and after exchanging just a few words with his uncle, turned to talk to his wife Kate and aunt Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, 60.
Sophie’s husband Prince Edward was also absent, thanks to being in Papua New Guinea representing the King at celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence from Australia. But other senior royals were there in force, including Princess Anne, 75, and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence, 70. Famous faces among the mourners included Coronation Street actors Dame Maureen Lipman, 79, and Rula Lenska, 77, and former F1 champion Sir Jackie Stewart, 86.
The Duke of Kent, 89 and cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth, grieved deeply throughout the service for his wife of 64 years. The former Katharine Worsley, who died on September 4 aged 92, found being in the limelight as a member of the royal family difficult and stepped back as a working royal in the 1990s, instead focusing on her own charitable causes, as well as teaching music at a primary school. In 1994, she converted to Catholicism, the first member of the royal family to be a part of the church in three centuries.
The requiem mass included a special message read out from Pope Leo XIV, who praised the duchess’ “dedication to official duties, patronage of charities and devoted care for vulnerable people in society”.
Cardinal Vincent Nicholas, who presided over the service, said while it was a historic occasion because it was a royal Catholic funeral, it should be seen primarily as a family gathering to remember “a woman who was greatly loved within that family, and also, as we’ve seen, by much of the public”
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