Who is the Duke of Kent? The daredevil driver and tennis enthusiast is the oldest living blood relative of Queen Elizabeth II – and celebrates his 88th birthday today
- The Duke, 88, is a cousin of both the late Queen and Prince Philip
- He is the oldest living blood royal – and grandfather to Lady Amelia Windsor
- For all the latest Royal news, pictures and videos click here
While Queen Elizabeth may have been the longest ever reigning British monarch, the Duke of Kent is currently the oldest living relative by blood of the British Royal Family.
Celebrating his 88th birthday today, Prince Edward, who was a cousin to both the late Queen and Prince Philip, has been among the hardest working and most loyal of Royal servants.
He previously said of the Queen and his commitment to duty: ‘I always felt I wanted to support her. That’s by far the most important thing in life.’
Though he is perhaps not as well-known than his late first cousin and Senior Royal counterparts, the Duke of Kent certainly has a career worth noting.
An Army veteran, dare-devil driver and tennis enthusiast, the Duke is certainly multi-faceted and he continues to astonish royal watchers, even to this day.
Edward, Duke of Kent with his younger brother Prince Michael as they attend the state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. Prince Edward is the eldest of her surviving first cousins
The Duke of Kent, who celebrates his 88th birthday today, was always close to the Queen. Above: The pair on Buckingham Palace’s balcony in 2022
Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, and his sister Princess Alexandra with their parents, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark and Prince George in October 1940
The Duke of Kent walking with his then fiancee, Miss Katherine Worsley, through the churchyard of All Saints, Hovingham, in April 1961
The Windsor family tree, showing Edward, Duke of Kent, showing his children, Lady Helen Taylor and the Earl of St Andrews, and granddaughter, Lady Amelia Windsor
Born in his parents’ first home in London’s Belgravia in 1935, the Duke was named after Prince George’s elder brother, Edward, the future King.
His father was the younger brother of both King George and the former King Edward VIII, whilst his mother, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, was the niece of the Duke of Edinburgh’s father, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark.
At his christening at Buckingham Palace was nine-year-old Princess Elizabeth, his cousin, as well as King George V and Queen Mary – his godparents – and the then Prince of Wales.
The following year, his sister, Princess Alexandra, was born on Christmas Day. Her arrival was followed six years later by Prince Michael’s birth.
The tragic and rather mysterious death of their father Prince George, who had been flying in the service of the wartime RAF when he died, came less than two months after his youngest son’s arrival.
George was killed along with 13 other crew members shortly after take-off from the Scottish Highlands. Their Sunderland flying boat had been bound for Iceland.
Little is known about the circumstances of the crash, but it shook the family to its core.
Edward, then just six, inherited the title and thrust into the limelight following the shocking death of his father Prince George in a plane crash.
Educated at Eton and then in Switzerland, the Duke went on his first overseas tour – to Singapore – in 1951, when he was just 16. Above: The Duke of Kent during his visit to the royal Air Force station Sek Kong while in Hong Kong on his Far Eastern tour
His Army career began in 1953, when he entered the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst
The Royal Family at Buckingham Palace after the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953
Educated at Eton and then in Switzerland, the Duke went on his first overseas tour – to Singapore – in 1951, when he was just 16.
Accompanying his devoted mother, the trip was an ideal opportunity for the Duke to learn duties that would form the centrepiece of his life as a senior royal in the future.
But it was at the Queen’s Coronation that he faced his first major test as a key member of the world’s most famous family.
The Duke was told that he would be seated alongside Prince Philip and his uncle, Prince Henry, as one of three royal dukes who were to pay homage to the Queen.
He made the solemn vow at the Queen’s Coronation to be his cousin’s ‘liege man of life and limb’ and in the subsequent decades has certainly lived up to the promise.
The Duke’s career in the Army began in 1953, when he entered the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.
It was the start of a 21-year military career which saw the duke serve with distinction in conflict zones including Northern Ireland and Cyprus.
The Duke of Kent racing a go kart while in Hong Kong with his regiment the Royal Scots Greys in 1963
The Duke getting into his then new 2.9-litre Aston Martin in 1957, two years after his serious crash
The widowed Princess Marina is seen with Prince Edward, Princess Alexandra and the young Prince Michael (left) at their Buckinghamshire home in 1950
His first brush with danger on the road came in June 1954, when the Duke, then 18, was involved in a head-on collision. The accident left him in hospital with concussion but didn’t deter him from getting back behind the wheel.
Just three months later the Duke’s new car collided with a fallen tree, leaving him with a scratch above his right eye.
But it was in July 1955 that the Duke had a real dance with death. The then 19-year-old’s convertible hit a tree and plunged into a ditch near Sandhurst.
Prince Edward, his head bleeding and bruised, had to crawl from the twisted wreckage. A witness who saw the remains of the Duke’s car told how he was ‘lucky to escape with his life’.
He went on to spend more than a week in hospital, before passing out of Sandhurst soon after.
In his most recent accident, in June 2019, the Duke’s Jaguar collided with a Mini being driven by a university student.
The young woman later recalled her ‘terrifying ordeal’, which saw the Duke allegedly pull out in front of her car, forcing her to slam on the brakes and then crash into the central reservation.
The Duke of Kent and his bride, Katharine after their wedding at York Minster on June 8, 1961
The Duke and Duchess, and their 18 month old son, the Earl of St Andrews, while they were expecting their second child in the coming Spring
Lord Nicholas Windsor, seen here making his debut to photographers with his parents
The Duke and Duchess of Kent had three children together. The arrival of George, Earl of St Andrews (right) in 1962, was followed by Lady Helen Taylor (left) in 1964 and Lord Nicholas six years after that. Above: The family in 1975
It was while he was at the Yorkshire base of his regiment, the Royal Scots Greys, later in the 1950s that the Duke met the woman who would become his wife.
His romance with Katharine Worsley, the daughter of a Yorkshire landowner, was described at the time as something ‘straight out of the pages of Wuthering Heights of Jane Eyre’.
By the time of their wedding day in 1961, the couple were the latest hot property of the House of Windsor – more than a decade before the far more high-profile Prince Charles and Princess Diana had even met.
Thousands lined the 23-mile route between the wedding venue, York Minster, and Katharine’s family home.
Her wedding dress was made of 250 yards of organdie that was woven with masses of silver thread.
They spent their honeymoon in a secluded villa in Majorca, before celebrating the birth of their first child the following year.
The arrival of George, Earl of St Andrews, was followed by Lady Helen in 1964 and Lord Nicholas six years after that. Socialite Lady Amelia Windsor is one of his grandchildren.
The Duke and Duchess of Kent attending the Royal American Premiers of Young Winston at the Columbia I and II Theatres – the first ‘Royal’ premiere ever held in the United States – in 1990
Prince Edward, The Duke of Kent pictured at the Armed Forces Day National Event in 2022
The Duke of Kent (far left) in King Charles III’s coronation portrait released in May 2023
Unlike his younger brother Prince Michael of Kent, the Duke has largely stayed away from controversy. Above: Prince Edward and Prince Michael arrive for the Queen’s funeral
But the family unit was hit by tragedy in 1975 when, according to reporting at the time, the Duchess underwent an abortion after contracting German measles while pregnant.
Another pregnancy two years later ended with a stillbirth that triggered a bout of severe depression for the Duchess.
Whilst she had returned to royal duties by 1979, the death of her baby son, named Patrick, continued to hit her hard and she spent seven weeks in hospital for treatment and rest.
The Duke’s own relationship with his wife was suffering too and there were reports that he had consulted the Queen about the possibility of divorce. After she allegedly advised that they try to stay together, the couple did not split.
The Duchess was later diagnosed with both Epstein-Barr virus, which has symptoms resembling ME or Chronic Fatigue syndrome and coeliac disease, which prevents the stomach from being able to process gluten.
Yet it was the Duchess’s faith helped to sustain her through the difficult times and in 1994 she converted to Roman Catholicism.
The Duke, whilst remaining an Anglican, attended mass with her at Westminster Cathedral on occasion.
The Duke and Duchess of Kent pictured on their 25th wedding anniversary in 2001
The Duke of Kent riding a bike on his 15th birthday in 1950. By then, he was already obsessed with engines and cars
Born in his parents’ first home in London’s Belgravia in 1935, the Duke of Kent was named after his father Prince George’s elder brother Edward, the future King
Though they are still formally together, they have lived separately for many years, with Katharine shunning her HRH title and preferring to use her first name rather than being addressed as a duchess.
The couple’s official residence is Wren House at Kensington Palace.
However, most of his time was taken up by his commitment to royal duties, which have seen him have involvement with 140 different charities, organisations and professional bodies.
In his role as president of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club from 1969, the Duke became a well-known face on television every year when he presented trophies at Wimbledon to champion and runner-up.
His involvement at the top tennis event only came to an end in 2021, when he stepped down as president after more than five decades.
The Duke has also represented the monarch on numerous overseas trips and served as his role as Vice Chairman of the Overseas Trade Board, and then later of British Trade International from 1976 to 2001.
His closeness to the Queen was typified in May 2021, when he stepped in as her ‘plus one’ at Trooping the Colour, following the death of Prince Philip the previous month.
This was followed with his appearance by the Queen’s side during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations last year.
Britain’s Andy Murray receives the Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy from Prince Edward, Duke of Kent in 2013
The Princess of Wales and the Duke of Kent on centre court at Wimbledon following the men’s final in 2021
Duke of Kent, Duchess of Gloucester, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie during the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey on September 19, 2022 in London
And whilst both the Duke’s children and his brother Prince Michael have hit the headlines for the wrong reasons in the past, he has remained largely below the radar – living up to the ‘steady Eddie’ nickname lovingly given by his family.
In his book, the Duke’s warm words about the Queen summed up the commitment to duty that has defined him.
Choosing words that few could disagree with, he said: ‘I always felt I wanted to support her. That’s by far the most important thing in life.’
The 88-year-old was among those who walked behind Elizabeth II’s coffin as it was carried to Westminster Abbey.
Demonstrating his decades of loyal service, the solemn journey came 70 years after he performed the same duty at the funeral of his uncle King George VI, the Queen’s father.
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