Duchess of Kent to be buried at Frogmore after Westminster Cathedral requiem

The Duchess of Kent will be buried at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore in Windsor on Tuesday after a requiem mass at Westminster Cathedral, royal sources said. The coffin carrying Katharine, who died on Sept. 4 at the age of 92, was due to be taken by hearse to the burial ground following the funeral service attended by King Charles III, Queen Camilla and senior members of the royal family.

Katharine, the wife of the Duke of Kent and a devout Roman Catholic since her 1994 conversion, requested her funeral be held at Westminster Cathedral. The requiem marked the first Catholic funeral for a member of the royal family at the cathedral in modern times. A piper from The Royal Dragoon Guards was due to play the Scottish lament "Sleep, Dearie, Sleep" as the coffin processed from the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary, past the nave and down the central aisle.

The Royal Burial Ground lies adjacent to the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore, where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are interred. Construction of the mausoleum began in 1862 following Albert's death; his remains were initially placed in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle and transferred to the mausoleum when it was completed in 1871. Victoria was later buried beside him when she died in 1901.

The burial ground immediately outside the mausoleum was consecrated in the 1920s on the order of King George V as the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel neared capacity. Its first direct interment was Margaret, Marchioness of Cambridge, in 1929; several coffins were also moved there from the Royal Vault in 1928. Over the following century, the Royal Burial Ground became the resting place for more than 30 members of the extended royal family.

Among those interred at Frogmore are the mausoleum burials of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and in the burial ground itself figures such as Princess Helena, members of the Cambridge line, Prince George, Duke of Kent, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, the abdicated King Edward VIII and his wife Wallis Simpson. The site also holds memorials to royals who died in the 19th and 20th centuries, reflecting changing practices for royal interment over time.

Not all senior royals chose Frogmore. Princess Margaret, who died in 2002 and was cremated, reportedly described the burial ground as "too gloomy" and did not want her remains placed there. Her ashes were initially in the Royal Vault and later moved to the King George VI Memorial Chapel at St George's Chapel, where her parents — King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother — are buried.

The Royal Burial Ground has not been the site of many recent interments. Sir Angus Ogilvy, husband of Princess Alexandra, was buried there in 2004, and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, was interred the same year. Since then, other royal burials, including those of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, have taken place in the King George VI Memorial Chapel or the Royal Vault before transfer to memorial chapels.

Frogmore sits within a wider estate that includes Frogmore House and Frogmore Cottage. Frogmore House is a Grade I-listed 17th-century manor with extensive gardens laid out in the 1790s; its interiors retain historic decorative schemes and rooms preserved to reflect their 18th- and 19th-century appearance. Frogmore Cottage, a Grade II-listed house on the estate, was used as a residence by Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, until they relinquished it in 2023.

An online book of condolence for the Duchess of Kent opened on the monarchy’s official website following her death, allowing members of the public to pay respects. Buckingham Palace said Katharine died peacefully at her Kensington Palace home surrounded by family.

Royal ceremonial arrangements for the funeral combined religious observance and military elements reflecting the duchess's patronages and associations. Her decision to be known publicly for much of her life as "Mrs Kent," her years teaching music in a Hull primary school and her longstanding role supporting Wimbledon trophy presentations were noted in statements issued by the palace.

After the burial at Frogmore, the royal household is expected to maintain traditional discretion over the site, which remains a private part of the Windsor estate and a focal point for royal remembrance and family commemoration.