While King Charles is the head of the Royal Family, he is definitely not the oldest living royal.
At the age of 76, the monarch is among one of the older members of the family; however, is still 15 years younger than the oldest royal – The Duchess of Kent.
Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley, born in 1933, did not join the Royal Family until she married the late Queen’s cousin Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, in 1961.
The Duchess was a working royal for years, carrying out several engagements and having three children: George, Earl of St Andrews, Lady Helen Taylor, and Lord Nicholas Windsor.
In 1975, the Duchess had an abortion after contracting rubella while pregnant – a condition that can harm the unborn baby. Two years later, the Duchess gave birth to a stillborn son named Patrick, which led to her having to take some away from royal duty.
The duchess then continued her royal work until 2002, when she asked the late Queen for permission to depart from royal duty and return to her real passion – music.
Before marrying the duke, Katharine worked in a children’s home in York, close to her childhood home, and taught at a kindergarten in London before going on to Oxford to study music.
The duchess, who learned to play piano, organ and violin from a young age, wanted to bring the joy of music to children.
After stepping down from royal work in 2022, Katharine became a music teacher at Wansbeck Primary School, with only the head teacher knowing who she was.
Speaking to the Telegraph in 2022, she said: “There was no publicity about it at all – it just seemed to work.”
In 2004, the duchess founded the charity Future Talent to give every child an equal opportunity to excel in music by working in partnership with primary schools.
The charity aims to spot talent, equip talented children with instruments and offer them tuition to help them make music their future.
The duchess now enjoys a quiet life at Wren House with her husband on the grounds of Kensington Palace.
