Queen Camilla has pulled out from attending the funeral of the Duchess of Kent due to suffering from ‘acute sinusitis’, Buckingham Palace said.
The Queen was due to join King Charles and other members of the royal family at Westminster Cathedral later this afternoon to say their final goodbyes to Katharine, who died on September 4 aged 92.
She has withdrawn from attending the funeral ‘with great regret’, but she hopes she will be well enough to attend all royal elements of Donald Trump’s second state visit which officially begins tomorrow.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: ‘With great regret, Her Majesty The Queen has withdrawn from attendance at this afternoon’s Requiem Mass for The Duchess of Kent as she is recovering from acute sinusitis.
‘Her thoughts and prayers will be with The Duke of Kent and all the family.’
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The Duke of Kent has been informed and is said to fully understand Camilla’s decision and sent his best wishes.
The Queen travelled from Scotland this morning and is currently en route to Windsor to rest.
She is due to formally welcome Donald and Melania Trump alongside the King at Windsor Castle during their state visit, before watching a military procession.
Duchess Katharine, a Catholic convert, will be remembered in a requiem mass which will be the first to be held for a member of the monarchy in modern British history.
The last Roman Catholic funeral definitively known to have been held for a member of the British royal family in England was nearly 500 years ago when Queen Mary I died in 1558.
The wife of the late Queen’s cousin the Duke of Kent, Katharine died peacefully at home while surrounded by her family on September 4.
Katharine converted to Catholicism in 1994, and was the first royal to do so for more than 300 years.
It was her wish to have her funeral at Westminster Cathedral, and tt will be the first royal funeral at the cathedral since its construction in 1903.
Pope Leo XIV sent a message in honour of the duchess, and his words will be read to the congregation by Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendia, Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain.
Personal elements of the deeply religious service include the participation of three of the duchess’s grandchildren – Lady Marina-Charlotte Windsor, Eloise Taylor and Albert Windsor who will read the Prayer of the Faithful.
A large wreath of British garden flowers, chosen by the duchess’s family, has been placed on top of the coffin and includes white roses, the symbol of Yorkshire, the county where she was born, and sprigs of yew from the gardens of Hovingham Hall, the duchess’s childhood home, representing eternal life.
Her coffin is a wicker construction made from English willow and is draped with the royal standard which has a white ermine border signifying she was the spouse of a prince.
It was received during a solemn ceremony at the cathedral for the Rite of Reception and Vespers on the eve of her funeral service, with immediate family in attendance, and the coffin resting overnight in the Lady Chapel.
Soldiers from The Royal Dragoon Guards, a regiment she supported as deputy Colonel-in-Chief, played an important role, with a piper leading the funeral cortege and other soldiers carrying the coffin into the cathedral.
It’s been a tumultuous time for the royal family in recent weeks, after King Charles and Prince Harry reunited for the first time in more than a year after their rather public family fallout.
Harry had returned to the UK to visit his late grandmother’s grave on the third anniversary of her death, as well as attend the WellChild charity award ceremony.
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