Edward and Katharine, Duke & Duchess of Kent, their family

[Margot]

The most wonderful woman! I am constantly humbled by just how beautiful on both the inside and on the outside this member of the royal family really is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=yTLOA_eZsAc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv7-05QanFE&feature=relmfu

[CHRISinUSA]

I couldn't agree with you more Margot - the way the Duchess (and let's not forget The Duke as well) of Kent have handled their private lives and its various challenges is astonishing and remarkable.

I mean - just look at the list.  Here we have a royal couple with a medically necessary abortion, a miscarriage, decades of medical issues and depression, a religious conversion away from the kingdom's established church, and a marriage that for all practical purposes has ceased. 
Any one of these developments could have risen to the level of crisis for the royal family.  All of them combined?  Could have been a disaster of Charles/Diana or Andrew/Sarah proportions.  And yet none of it undermined the dignity of the crown or royal family, embarrassed the Queen, or become torrid tabloid fare. 

That can be due solely to the personal strength, self-control and discretion of this particularly royal couple. 

[Kalafrana]

Chris

I agree entirely. Both the Duke and Duchess have behaved impeccably throughout and set an example to everyone else.

Their children have also been quiet and sensible and caused no ructions. Lady Sarah has a slightly higher profile than her brothers because she is married to an art dealer, but never a whisper of trouble from any of them.

Incidentally, the Duke is quite a talented photographer - years ago the newspapers published a lovely portrait he took of Lady Sarah on her 18th birthday.

Ann

[feodorovna]

CHRISinUSA and Ann, I agree with you both. The strength and dignity exhibited by this quiet couple is indeed praiseworthy, but they were never quite as "glamorous" as those closer to the throne and had their heyday at a time when the press still had a modicum of respect for Royalty, so the public were not privy to their every move. Nor were they ever flamboyant enough for anyone to dripfeed information about them to the press. More was said about Katherine after the tragic loss of her babies than at any other time, but there was nothing salacious about it and I imagine that the whole country grieved with, and for her.

[Grace]

I couldn't agree with you more Margot - the way the Duchess (and let's not forget The Duke as well) of Kent have handled their private lives and its various challenges is astonishing and remarkable.

I mean - just look at the list.  Here we have a royal couple with a medically necessary abortion, a miscarriage, decades of medical issues and depression, a religious conversion away from the kingdom's established church, and a marriage that for all practical purposes has ceased. 
Any one of these developments could have risen to the level of crisis for the royal family.  All of them combined?  Could have been a disaster of Charles/Diana or Andrew/Sarah proportions.  And yet none of it undermined the dignity of the crown or royal family, embarrassed the Queen, or become torrid tabloid fare. 

That can be due solely to the personal strength, self-control and discretion of this particularly royal couple. 

Of course it wasn't due solely to those qualities!  The Kents have never had a fraction of the media and public interest and speculation that Charles and Diana or even Andrew and Sarah endured.  Among the Kent's 'developments', Edward, Duke of Kent has reportedly over the years had extramarital affairs.  Whether these are true or not I don't know but do you honestly imagine, if he had been heir to the throne like Charles, these wouldn't have exploded all over the tabloid press when they allegedly occurred?   

I agree that the Kents have been a discreet couple over the years but they have hardly had the spotlight and scrutiny upon them as have the other two couples, particularly Charles and Diana, to truly put their discretion to the test.

[Kalafrana]

It is a fair point that the Kents have been less in the media spotlight than some others. However, the Duke is the Queen's first cousin, and we should remember that for years the press have been falling over themselves to find scandal within the royal family and friction between its members. Given that he always appears such a sensible and reliable figure, wouldn't the News of the World have loved to uncover an extra-marital affair, or a fondness for brandy!

I also have a lot of time for the Gloucesters, who work away quietly and attract little notice. Way back in 1972 when they got married there was concern that the Duchess's parents were divorced (how old-fashioned that sounds) but the nearest they've ever got to scandal was when the Duke lost his driving licence after being caught by speed cameras (he's a bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing!)

Ann

[Margot]

I do agree with you Ann, Grace and Chris regarding the amount of media attention that Charles and Diana received compared to that sorrounding the Kents, but saying that the Michaels are constantly being targeted by the press in the UK. (Those two seem to the Media punch bags where royalty is concerned in the UK - MC is the arch baddy within the family apparently....pushy, self serving, haughty and worst of all German)  and  So I do not think it is all about your position within the family rankings but also indicative of the perceived "news print" worthiness of certain members of the family over others. Marie Christine gets heaps more attention then her position as a Junior member of the family who does not even get paid out to carry out engagements warrants. Interestingly, it is the Gloucesters who really do seem to lead whiter than white lives as far as the press are concerned. You very very rarely find any articles about them in the press at all.

Going back to Katharine Kent, I believe that the press has a healthy respect for her which mirrors general public opinion. The fact that the Press Barons knew about her teaching job long before she went public is well known and this in itself demonstrates a degree of respect rare in the media where no paper leaked this story. The Duchess is without a doubt IMHO an extraordinary member of the family who appears to have gained the respect not only of the media but the public at large through her discretion, selfless philanthropy and obvious passion for music and sharing her talent to nurture future talent.        

[Marc]

Paola was born Paola Doimi di Delupis.  Her father has added a few names along the way including Frankopan.  When he adopted the title prince and Frankopan (a Croatian noble family that became extinct in the 1600s), he was chucked out of the Croatian nobility association.

Her mother is Swedish.  The family are not entitled to Don or Donna either as they are not Italian nobles  -- pure pretense.

You are right about her ancestry,but her family was granted their status in 1753 as part of Venetian nobility,so maybe technically speaking they would have some right to call themselves Don or Donna,but that's just about it....

Her family was first mentioned in 13th century and their origins were from the island of Vis which was part of Venetian Republic for centuries until the beginning of 19th century and was called Isola di Lissa,so many families actually gained honors and titles from it...

Later in 1865 Austria acknowledged their noble status as Doimi di Delupis as the family intermarried with one other untitled noble familiy-Vukasinovic(which means Wolf or Lupis as they were called) due to which they were allowed to add di Delupis to their name,which means "from Vukasinovic"...The reason for this noble acknowledgment was that island was now part of Dalmatia,which was part of Austrian Empire...

Her family owned a palace in the island.Here is a picture of it:

http://www.lupis.it/palazzodoimidelupisaliscl0.png

Here is a genealogy of Paola where one can see that she doesn't have any right to use titles as Countess or Princess:

http://www.genmarenostrum.com/pagine-lettere/letteral/Lupis/Lupis%20di%20Dalmazia.htm

[Marc]

When he adopted the title prince and Frankopan (a Croatian noble family that became extinct in the 1600s), he was chucked out of the Croatian nobility association.

When her father invented all those titles one of the members of the Croatian Noble society said:"Isn't it being a Doimi di DeLupis already good enough?"

This indicates that local status of this family is very high and that pretending to be someone else was just too much to understand for them...

[Lucien]

HRH The Duchess of Kent celebrates her 79th birthday today.

[Suzanne]

The Duke of Kent is currently in Uganda for the Diamond Jubilee and 50th anniversary of Ugandan Independence

http://www.royalhistorian.com/the-duke-of-kent-celebrates-two-jubilees-in-uganda/

[Lucien]

HRH The Duke of Kent has been admitted to hospital.His engagements for the at least the next three weeks are cancelled.
No details were given on his condition.

[Kalafrana]

Interestingly, I can find nothing about this in the British press, not even on the royal website. I didn't think the Duke was as low profile as all that!

In any event, I wish him a full and speedy recovery (and the opportunity for some peace and quiet, as he does a lot of good work in an unsung fashion).

Ann

[Lucien]

Interestingly, I can find nothing about this in the British press, not even on the royal website. I didn't think the Duke was as low profile as all that!

In any event, I wish him a full and speedy recovery (and the opportunity for some peace and quiet, as he does a lot of good work in an unsung fashion).

Ann

Apparently the Duke suffered a mild stroke on sunday and was then taken to hospital.
His condition isn't thought to be serious though.Wishing him well and a speedy recovery!!

[Suzanne]

The Duke of Kent's health is mentioned here:

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/HRH-Duke-Kent-cancels-visit-St-Agnes/story-18461288-detail/story.html#axzz2O3R5yiAk