King Charles is set to have special preparations done to give a proper send off to an important senior working member.
The royal family announced the sad passing of the oldest member, Duchess of Kent, on Friday after she peacefully died “surrounded by family” at Kensington Palace.
Katharine, who was 92 at the time of her death, was a devout Catholic Christian and was the first member of the royal family to convert to Catholicism for more than 300 years. Given her decision, she had expressly mentioned about her wish with regards to her final rites.
The Duchess of Kent was the wife of the late Queen Elizabeth’s cousin the Duke of Kent, which makes her the aunt of Charles.
It is understood that the King is obliged to honour them as Palace confirmed that it would be a Catholic funeral, according to Royal Correspondent Danielle Stacey.
Moreover, it has been a “a long-pondered personal decision” by the late royal.
“The Duchess became the first member of the royal family to convert to Catholicism for more than 300 years, doing so in 1994,” the expert told Hello! magazine. “The Palace has also said that funeral arrangements will reflect the Duchess’s personal wishes, so this appears to be in line with those values.”
Katharine had previously mentioned in an interview with BBC that she loves the guidelines from the Catholic Church.
“I have always wanted that in my life,” she told the outlet. “I like to know what’s expected of me. I like being told: ‘You shall go to church on Sunday and if you don’t you're in for it!’”