Ethel Kennedy’s death in October at 96 was the end of a trying few years. Her health had been in decline, and she had confined herself to living full time in Hyannis, the longtime family compound on Cape Cod. In the summer of 2024, her immune system was so compromised that she couldn’t attend the wedding of her granddaughter Mariah Kennedy Cuomo, even though it was being held at her home. “Normally, Ethel would be a part of everything,” one attendee said. “But all she could do was sit on this enclosed balcony and wave at people.”

Ethel’s son Bobby was there, too, although many of the other wedding guests weren’t in a mood to talk to him. Ethel’s relationship with her third child, named for her beloved husband, had always been tempestuous. When Bobby was a young man, she regularly threw hi

See Full Page