Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, attends Duchess of Kent’s funeral alone as Prince Edward represents King abroad

Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, attended the funeral of Katharine, Duchess of Kent, at Westminster Cathedral on Tuesday without her husband, Prince Edward, who is representing King Charles on a royal engagement in Papua New Guinea.

King Charles was among senior royals at the requiem mass; Queen Camilla withdrew from the service on medical grounds, Buckingham Palace said. Other members of the royal family in attendance included the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of York and The Princess Royal.

Sophie, 60, arrived at the cathedral dressed in black mourning attire, including a midi dress and a small hat, and carried a matching handbag. She stepped from her vehicle at the cathedral’s grand entrance and joined other family members and guests as the funeral service proceeded. Her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, was not present because he had travelled to Papua New Guinea on Sunday ahead of the country’s 50th independence anniversary. The palace said he is expected to remain there until Sept. 17.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s absence meant the Duchess attended the service on her own; their children, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex, were also not present at the funeral. A palace spokesperson said Queen Camilla had withdrawn from attendance at the afternoon Requiem Mass because she was recovering from acute sinusitis.

The funeral marked a rare Roman Catholic ceremony for a member of the British royal family. Katharine, who died on Sept. 4 at the age of 92, converted to Catholicism in 1994 and had expressed the wish to have her funeral at Westminster Cathedral. The requiem was the first Catholic funeral for a senior royal in recent history and took place after a series of private rites at Kensington Palace attended by immediate family.

The Duchess of Kent’s coffin was transported from Kensington Palace to the cathedral in a royal hearse designed by the late Queen Elizabeth II. A military piper from The Royal Dragoon Guards led the brief procession, and personnel from the regiment formed the bearer party that carried the coffin into Westminster Cathedral, where it rested overnight in the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary ahead of the public service.

Members of Katharine’s family attended a vigil and other private observances in the days following her death. Her three children are George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews; Lady Helen Taylor; and Lord Nicholas Windsor. Several grandchildren were present at the vigil and at the cathedral, and some posted tributes on social media in the days after her death.

Katharine had stepped back from full-time royal duties in 2002 and subsequently focused on charitable work and music education. She founded the charity Future Talent to support young musical prodigies and was known for her involvement with several causes and regiments, including serving as deputy Colonel-in-Chief to The Royal Dragoon Guards since 1992.

The funeral at Westminster Cathedral carried broader historical resonance. The Act of Settlement 1701 bars Catholics from the British throne, a statute enacted after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the deposition of King James II, the last Catholic monarch. While members of the royal family have in the past attended Catholic services and funerals abroad — Queen Elizabeth II attended the Catholic state funeral of King Baudouin of Belgium in 1993 — a Catholic requiem for a senior British royal on home soil is uncommon in modern times.

Sophie had been abroad on a pre-arranged, four-day visit to Canada when the duchess’s death was announced. She attended an engagement at Spruce Meadows near Calgary the night after the announcement, wearing sombre clothing and at times shielding her expression with sunglasses. It is traditional for senior royals to carry black mourning outfits when travelling so they can observe protocol if tragic news occurs while abroad; officials have cited that precedent dating back to the 1950s.

The Duke of Kent, Katharine’s husband and a first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II, is now the most senior living member of the royal family by age following his wife’s death. Tributes from family and public figures noted Katharine’s long-standing charitable work and her devotion to music and education. Prime Minister Keir Starmer described her as having brought "compassion, dignity and a human touch" to her public duties.

There is not expected to be a period of national mourning, officials said, because Katharine had not carried out full-time royal duties since 2002. The funeral at Westminster Cathedral, however, drew members of the royal family and others to pay respects to a figure who had long been involved in charitable and cultural life in Britain.