The Duke of Kent’s sweet gesture for his late wife, Katharine, Duchess of Kent, every single week has been revealed. The Duke, 89, was said to have taken his late wife to the hairdresser every week in what’s been described as the ultimate act of devotion in a marriage of 64 years. The revelation was made by Hugo Vickers, who is the co-author of the Duke’s memoir. He said: “She [the Duchess] was very much there at Wren House, the duke’s home in the grounds of Kensington Palace. He took her once a week to the hairdresser’s.”
The revelation comes just days after the royal family went into mourning following the death of the Duchess of Kent, who passed away aged 92 on 4 September 2025. Katharine and Edward had been married for 64 years after the Duchess met King George V’s grandson Prince Edward in 1957 at a private party when he was serving with the Royal Scots Greys at Catterick.
Reports of romance circulated in the following years but there were also suggestions of opposition to a marriage between Queen Elizabeth II’s first cousin and a squire’s daughter. The couple went on to marry anyway and welcomed three children together, George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, Lady Helen Taylor and Lord Nicholas Windsor.
The death of the late Queen’s cousin, Prince Edward’s, wife was announced via a statement which read: “It is with deep sorrow that Buckingham Palace announces the death of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent. Her Royal Highness passed away peacefully last night at Kensington Palace, surrounded by her family. The King and Queen and all members of The Royal Family join The Duke of Kent, his children and grandchildren in mourning their loss and remembering fondly The Duchess’s life-long devotion to all the organisations with which she was associated, her passion for music and her empathy for young people.”
Katharine, Duchess of Kent and Edward, Duke of Kent were married for 64 before her passing
The Duchess of Kent spent much of her life as a high-profile and well-beloved member of the royal family. She officially stepped back from royal duties in 2002. At the time, she told the late Queen Elizabeth II that she no longer wished to use her HRH title. After stepping back from the Firm, Katharine didn’t fully retire, but instead worked as a music teacher at Wansbeck Primary School in Hull, where she was known as “Mrs Kent”. Speaking to The Telegraph in 2022, she said: “Only the head knew who I was. The parents didn’t know and the pupils didn’t know. No one ever noticed. There was no publicity about it at all – it just seemed to work.”
