The concert, which saw performances from over 40 musicians and alumni, was hosted by Future Talent patron Alexander Armstrong, who paid tribute to the Duchess of Kent with a heartwarming speech. ‘Katharine’s love of life, her love of music, but most particularly, her love of people in all their infinite variety,’ he said.
‘Katharine was no aloof patron of Future Talent. She loved nothing more than rolling up her sleeves and getting involved and getting her hands dirty. She loved to keep up with all of the musicians. So much so that she would frequently just ring them out of the blue, just to hear how they were getting on.’
Other speakers told stories of the Duchess’s kindness, with one performer telling the crowd how the Duchess lent her her childhood violin when she heard she was unable to afford her own, The Telegraph reports; another recounted how Katherine told him they would be ‘great friends’ after playing the piano together.
Prince Michael of Kent; Prince Edward, Duke of Kent; Katharine, Duchess of Kent and Lord Nicholas Windsor watch three pipers from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) play outside Wren House, Kensington Palace to mark Prince Edward’s 89th birthday, on 9 October, 2024
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Buckingham Palace announced the death of the Duchess of Kent on 5 September 2025; she was 92. Her funeral, which saw the likes of the Prince and Princess of Wales gather at Westminster Abbey, was the first Catholic memorial service held for a royal in modern history.
Despite the grandeur that came with her royal position following her marriage to the Duke of Kent in 1961, the Duchess preferred to remain as down-to-earth as possible. She famously told the BBC to call her Katharine in an interview after she renounced her title to become a music teacher at Wansbeck Primary at age 61. Despite a life spent as the wife of a prince, Katharine enjoyed complete anonymity at the school. ‘I was just known as Mrs Kent,’ she told the Guardian in 2014, ‘I was just known as Mrs Kent. 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.’