The funeral of the Duchess of Kent will take place at Westminster Cathedral on September 16, Buckingham Palace has announced. It will be the first Catholic funeral service held for a member of the royal family in modern British history.

In a significant move, the King, head of the Church of England, will attend. Katharine, the wife of the late Queen’s cousin the Duke of Kent, died peacefully at home late on Thursday night at the age of 92.

Ahead of her funeral, the duchess’s coffin will rest in the private chapel at Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace said. It will then be taken by hearse to Westminster Cathedral on the eve of the requiem mass, where funeral rites including the Rite of Reception, which usually involves the coffin being sprinkled with holy water, and evening prayers know

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