This week, Katharine, the Duchess of Kent, celebrated her 91st birthday with an announcement that honors her lifelong love of music. On Thursday, the National Children’s Choir of Britain announced a new scholarship for talented young singers from low-income backgrounds in tribute to the duchess. The new program is taking place in partnership with Future Talent, the charitable music organization she founded in 2004 alongside charity leader and music teacher Nicholas Robinson. 

The announcement came along with a rare statement from the duchess. “I am truly delighted to witness the union of Future Talent and the National Children’s Choir of Great Britain in this important endeavor,” she said. “This partnership embodies the spirit of inclusivity and accessibility, with a shared commitment to nurturing the musical talents of the future.”

Born in 1933, the duchess is one of the last living royals to be born before World War II and the baby boom generation. Her husband, Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, is, at age 88, the oldest senior royal who is still working, though his schedule has gotten lighter in the years since the coronavirus pandemic began. The fourth child of an aristocratic Yorkshire family, Katharine studied music and was an avid pianist in her youth. She met the duke at a party in the late 1950s, and they were married on June 8, 1961, at York Minster in a televised service.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ44_-9kjuQ

A first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, the duke turned to full-time royal duties when he left the military in the 1960s. Along with raising their three children—George, Earl of St Andrews, Lady Helen Taylor, and Lord Nicholas Windsor—his wife joined in too. Eventually, she became a patron at Samaritans, a suicide and mental health hotline, and did volunteer work with UNICEF. Because the duke was, until recently, the patron of the All-England Tennis and Lawn Club, Katharine was a frequent guest at Wimbledon, where she would hand out trophies and once memorably comforted Jana Novotna after a finals loss to Steffi Graf. 

In the 1990s, her life took a surprising turn. In 1996, she began teaching music at Wansbeck Primary School in Hull, where she would teach for 13 years. Soon, she gave up her royal duties altogether and eventually she stopped using her HRH title. While working at the school, she was called Mrs. Kent, and she later told the BBC that her royal status wasn’t an issue for her students.

“I’ve studied music all my life, it's my passion. My other passion is children,” she told the network in an interview for a 2004 documentary. “Being able to share and pass on your love of music to children is the greatest privilege.”

In 2022, Katharine told The Telegraph’s Camilla Tominey that she was even a fan of rap music, including Ice Cube and Eminem. When Tominey asked if the duchess listens to thrash metal, she replied that she would enjoy it, but her husband might not. “I’d give it a go but possibly not for long. My husband likes music but very serious music,” she said. “I’ll listen to anything. I even like beatboxing.”