Thoughts of a Depressive Diplomatist: Royals in Medals #5: The Duke and Duchess of Kent

HRH The Duke of Kent, KG, GCVO. GCMG

Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick, was born in London on 9 October 1935. He was the eldest child of Prince George, Duke of Kent (the younger brother of King George VI and King Edward VIII) and Princess Marina, the daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece. He has two younger siblings: Prince Michael of Kent and Princess Alexandra. At birth he was seventh in line to the throne, and as the grandson in the male line of a monarch, was granted the style of Prince and Royal Highness: he succeeded to the title Duke of Kent on the death of his father on active service in 1942.

He was educated at Eton and La Rosary in Switzerland and then entered the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst , where he won the Sir James Moncrieff Grierson prize for foreign languages and qualified as an interpreter of French. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Scots Greys in 1955. In 1970 he commanded a squadron of his regiment serving in Cyprus as part of the UN peacekeeping force. The Duke retired from the Army in 1976 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He was subsequently promoted to Field Marshal in June 1993.

The Duke has been a very active member of the Royal Family, holding many patronages.

Honorary Military Appointments

United Kingdom

Colonel, of the Scots Guards
Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Colonel-in-Chief, of the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment
Colonel, 1st Battalion, of The Rifles
Deputy Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Honorary Air Commodore, of the RAF Leuchars

Canada

Colonel-in-Chief, of The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment)

The Duke holds the honorary ranks of Field Marshal in the Army and Air Chief Marshal in the RAF

In the robes of the Order of St Michael and George

Orders, Decorations and Medals

Orders

Order of the Garter
Royal Knight, 1985

Royal Victorian Order
Knight Grand Cross (GCVO), 1960

Order of St Michael and St George
Knight Grand Cross (GCVO)
Grand Master of the Order from 1967

Campaign Medals

United Nations Medal (UNFICYP)

Commemorative Medals

King George VI Coronation Medal, 1937

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal 1953

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal 1977

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.png

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal 2002
QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.png

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal 2012

The Duke represented the Queen during independence celebrations in several former colonies. He holds the following commemorative medals

Sierra Leone Independence Medal, 1961

Guyana IndependenceMedal, 1966

He may hold the following

Uganda Independence Medal, 1963, and medals issued to mark Gambia's Independence and Ghana's 50th Independence Anniversary Celebration

Long Service Awards

Canadian Forces Decoration (CD), with two clasps

Foreign Awards

Greece,Knight Commander of the Order of Saints George and Constantine
Nepal, Member 1st Class of the Order of Tri Shakti Patta (Three Divine Powers) or Jyotirmaya-Subikhyat-Tri-Shakti-Patta
Liberia, Knight Grand Band of the Order of the Star of Africa
Jordan, Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance
Norway, Grand Cross of the Order of St Olav
Poland, Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
Sweden, Knight of the Order of Charles XIII

Duchess of Kent and Family

The Duke and Duchess at the Hovingham Hall reception following their wedding on June 8, 1961.

The Duke of Kent married Katharine Worsley, only daughter of Sir William Arthrington Worsley, Bart, on 8 June 1961.

They have three children, none of whom carries out royal duties:

George, Earl of St Andrews, born 26 June 1962
Lady Helen Taylor, born 28 April 1964
Lord Nicholas Windsor, born 25 July 1970

Following decades of ill-health, the Duchess does not undertake royal duties, and lives separately from her husband. For many years she taught music to primary children.

The Duchess converted to Roman Catholicism in 1994, though this did not affect the Duke's place in the line of succession due to the Act of Settlement 1701, in that she was an Anglican at the time of their marriage. The couple's son Lord Nicholas also converted, loosing his right of succession to the throne.