My Garden In Early September.

 

R.I.P. My Favourite Royal.

I was sorry to hear today that  Katherine Duchess of Kent has died aged 92. If you are not familiar with all the names of the royals you might remember her as the elegant lady who used to present the trophies at Wimbledon. It was in 1993 when I first realised what a nice person she was. Jana Novotna was leading Steffi Graf 4-1 in the the third set of the Wimbledon final and seemed to have victory in her grasp. However, she lost her nerve and Steffi won five games in a row to win the championship. When Jana was being presented with her runner-up trophy she was so upset she cried on the Duchess's shoulder. You don't often see such a public display of genuine compassion from the royal family. 

Katherine's first love was music, and it was her ambition to be a music teacher. She played organ, piano and violin and has also sung in various choirs. She particularly admired the cello player Jacqueline Du Pre and they became great friends. I listened to Desert Island Discs when she was the guest. Incredibly she once said that she also likes Gangsta rap music by the likes of Ice Cube and Eminem which was very surprising for an 89-year-old female royal. In 1994 she converted to Catholicism which must have raised a few eyebrows among the other royals. Under the Act of Succession of 1704 Catholics are not allowed to succeed to the British crown, so she relinquished her place in the line of succession. I don’t think she was concerned about that because in 2002 she decided to drop the ‘Her Royal Highness’ from her name preferred to be known informally as Katherine Kent. For thirteen years she was a music teacher in a school in Hull where nobody knew of her royal connection and the pupils just knew her as Mrs Kent. She also gave private music lesson in her apartment at Kensington Palace. 

When The Samaritans asked her to be a patron of their charity she accepted as long as she could be trained as a Samaritan. She subsequently worked for them, answering the phone to people who were contemplating suicide. She also took a great interest in charities that work with children, and the elderly, and in hospices for people who were terminally ill. Her love of music also led her to founding her own charity called Future Talent which is dedicated to helping children from poor backgrounds to achieve a career in music. When I look at some members of the Royal Family whose selfish behaviour has sometimes turned the monarchy into a soap opera it makes me realise why Katherine Duchess of Kent was my favourite royal. 

Steffi Graf vs Jana Novotna - Wimbledon 1993 Final - Highlights

Happy 80th Birthday to Van Morrison