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{{short description|Royal title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{about|the title|the recent holder of the title|Katharine, Duchess of Kent}}
{{Infobox nobility title
| name              = Duchess of Kent
| image             =
| first_holder      = [[Jemima Grey, Duchess of Kent|Jemima Grey]]
| last_holder       = [[Katharine Worsley]]
| status            = Vacant
}}

'''Duchess of Kent''' is the principal title used by the wife of the [[Duke of Kent]]. There have been four titles referring to [[Kent]] since the 18th century. The most recent duchess was [[Katharine, Duchess of Kent|Katharine]], the wife of [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent|Prince Edward]]. He inherited the dukedom on 25 August 1942 upon the death of his father, [[Prince George, Duke of Kent|Prince George]], the fourth son of [[George V]].

==History==
[[Henry Grey, 12th Earl of Kent]] since 1702 (of the eighth creation in the [[peerage of England]]) was raised to the peerage of Great Britain in 1706 under [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]] as Marquess of Kent, Earl of Harold and Viscount Goderich, then as Duke of Kent in 1710. In 1694, he had married [[Jemima Grey, Duchess of Kent|Jemima Crew]], who became Countess, Marchioness and then Duchess of Kent in 1702, 1706 and 1710 respectively.<ref>John and J.B. Burke. ''A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies of England'', Scott, Webster, and Geary, 1838. pg 3. [https://books.google.com/books?id=VikAAAAAQAAJ&dq=jemima+crew+henry&pg=PA3 ''Google eBook'']</ref> She died in 1728. In 1729, he married Sophia Bentinck, who died exactly a year after he did. The dukedom, marquessate and earldom of Kent all became extinct, as the duke had survived all of his sons and had no male collateral heirs. However, two [[subsidiary title]]s (the barony of Lucas of Crudwell and the marquessate of Grey) passed to his granddaughter, [[Jemima Yorke, 2nd Marchioness Grey|Jemima Yorke]].

The Prince Edward Augustus was created [[Duke of Kent and Strathearn]] in the peerage of Great Britain by his father, [[George III]], in 1799.<ref name=Ddm>''Whitehall, 23 April 1799.''<br />The King has been pleased to grant to His Most Dearly-Beloved Son Prince Edward, and to the Heirs Male of His Royal Highness's Body lawfully begotten, the Dignities of Duke of the Kingdom of Great Britain, and of Earl of the Kingdom of Ireland, by the Names, Styles, and Titles of Duke of Kent, and of Strathern, in the Kingdom of Great Britain, and of Earl of Dublin, in the Kingdom of Ireland. {{London Gazette |issue=15126 |date=23 April 1799 |page=372}}</ref> In 1818, he married [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]], the daughter of Duke Francis and former regent of the Principality of Leiningen.<ref name="Tom Levine 2005">Tom Levine: Die Windsors. Glanz und Tragik einer fast normalen Familie. Campus-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main u. a. 2005, {{ISBN|3-593-37763-2}}, S. 20.</ref> They had one daughter, [[Queen Victoria|Princess Alexandrina Victoria]], in 1819. The duke died with no male heir in 1820, while the duchess died in 1861. She never married again, but there were rumours (unproven) of an affair with [[John Conroy]].<ref name=odnb>{{cite ODNB |id=8526 |first=Elizabeth |last=Longford |title=Edward, Prince, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (1767–1820) |date=2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hibbert |first=Christopher |title=Queen Victoria : a personal history |url=https://archive.org/details/queenvictoriaper00hibb |year=2000 |page=51|isbn=9780465067619 }}</ref><ref>
{{cite book |last=Gill |first=Gillian |title=We two : Victoria and Albert : rulers, partners, rivals |publisher=Ballantine Books |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-345-51492-9 |oclc=436295986 |url=https://archive.org/details/wetwovictoriaalb0000gill |page=61}}</ref>{{sfn|Longford|2004}}

[[Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia]] became Countess of Kent in 1874 on her marriage to The Prince Alfred Ernest Albert, who had received the earldom of Kent in the peerage of the United Kingdom from his mother eight years earlier. The couple were more commonly known by their higher titles of Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, than as Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The duke died in 1900, and the duchess in 1920. They had survived their only son, [[Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Alfred]], in 1899.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=23119 |date=25 May 1866 |page=3127}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| last=La Tienda| title=2-Pack Maria Cookies by Cuetera| url=http://www.tienda.com/food/products/co-01-2.html| access-date=9 November 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927192312/http://www.tienda.com/food/products/co-01-2.html| archive-date=27 September 2007| url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Prince George Edward Alexander Edmund was created Duke of Kent by his father [[George V]] in 1934, some weeks in advance of his wedding to [[Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark]]. She was a first cousin of the future royal consort [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]]. George died in 1942, leaving his peerage titles to his six-year-old son, Prince Edward. Marina continued to be styled "The Duchess of Kent" until Edward's wedding, and was then styled "Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent" until her own death in 1968.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34094|date=9 October 1934|page=6365|city=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=King and Queen|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gBRkAAAAIBAJ&pg=1563,3406056&dq=prince+george+duke+of+kent&hl=en|access-date=23 March 2013|newspaper=The Calgary Daily Herald|date=29 November 1934}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Prince Edward Christened – Ceremony at the Palace|work=[[The Times]] |page= 14 |date=21 November 1935 }}</ref>

[[Katharine, Duchess of Kent|Katharine Worsley]] married Prince Edward in 1961 and remained Duchess of Kent until her death in 2025.<ref name="York-Wedding">{{cite web|url=http://www.britishpathe.com/video/wedding-at-york |title=Wedding At York Wedding Of Prince Edward | publisher = British Pathé |website=Britishpathe.com |date=2010-01-03 |access-date=2017-03-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707071803/http://www.britishpathe.com/video/wedding-at-york |archive-date=7 July 2012}}</ref>

==List of titleholders==

===Duchesses of Kent (Great Britain, 1710–1740)===
Subsidiary titles: Countess of Harold, Viscountess Goderich, Baroness Lucas of Crudwell.
{{Nobility table header|name=Duchess}}
| '''[[Jemima Grey, Duchess of Kent|Jemima Crew]]'''<br />[[Baron Crew|Crew family]]<br />1710–1728
| [[File:Jemima Crew and Jemima Grey.jpg|100px|Jemima]]
| 1675<br />–<br />daughter of [[Thomas Crew, 2nd Baron Crew|Thomas Crew]] and Anne Armine
| 1694<br />[[Henry Grey, 12th Earl of Kent]]<br />6 children
| 2 July 1728<br />aged 31 or 32
|-
| '''Sophia Bentinck'''<br />[[Bentinck family]]<br />1729–1740
| 
| 4 April 1701<br />–<br />daughter of [[William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland]], and Jane Martha Temple
| 1729<br />[[Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent]]<br />2 children
| 5 June 1741<br />aged 40
|-
|}

===Duchess of Kent and Strathearn (Great Britain, 1818–1820)===
Subsidiary titles: Countess of Dublin (Ireland).
{{Nobility table header|name=Duchess}}
| '''[[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]]'''<br />[[Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|House of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]]<br />1818–1820
| [[File:Richard Rothwell (1800-68) - Victoria, Duchess of Kent (1788-1861) - RCIN 402489 - Royal Collection.jpg|100px|Princess Victoria]]
| 17 August 1786<br />[[Coburg]]<br />–<br />daughter of [[Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]] and [[Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf]]
| 29 May 1818<br />[[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn]]<br />[[Queen Victoria|1 daughter]]
| 16 March 1861<br />aged 74
|-
|}

===Countess of Kent (United Kingdom, 1874–1900)===
Other titles: Duchess of Edinburgh, Countess of Ulster.
{{Nobility table header|name=Countess}}
| '''[[Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia]]'''<br />[[House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov]]<br />1874–1900
|[[File:Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (1853-1920, later Princess of Great Britain & Ireland, Duchess of Edinburgh, Fürstin von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha).jpg|100px|Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna]]
| 17 October 1853<br />[[Alexander Palace]], [[Russian Empire]]<br />–<br />daughter of [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]] and [[Marie of Hesse and by Rhine]]
| 23 January 1874<br />[[Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh]]<br />5 children
| 24 October 1920<br />aged 67
|-
|}

===Duchesses of Kent (United Kingdom, since 1934)===
Subsidiary titles: Countess of St Andrews, Baroness Downpatrick.
{| class="wikitable"
!Duchess
!Portrait
!Birth
!Marriage(s)
!Death
!Arms
|-
| '''[[Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark]]'''<br />[[House of Glücksburg]]<br />1934–1942
| [[File:Duchess of Kent.jpg|100px|Marina]]
| 13 December 1906<br />[[Athens]], Greece<br />–<br />daughter of [[Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark|Prince Nicholas]] and [[Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia|Grand Duchess Elena]]
| 29 November 1934<br />[[Prince George, Duke of Kent]]<br />3 children
| 27 August 1968, aged 61
|[[File:Coat of Arms of Marina of Greece and Denmark, Duchess of Kent.svg|center|100x100px]]
|-
| '''[[Katharine, Duchess of Kent|Katharine Worsley]]'''<br />[[Worsley baronets of Hovingham Hall (1838)|Worsley family]]<br />1961–2025
|[[File:The Duchess of Kent with koala (cropped).jpg|100px|Katharine]]
| 22 February 1933<br />[[Hovingham Hall]], Yorkshire<br />–<br />daughter of [[Sir William Worsley, 4th Baronet]], and Joyce Brunner
| 8 June 1961<br />[[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent|Prince Edward]]<br />3 children
| 4 September 2025, aged 92
|[[File:Coat of Arms of Katharine, Duchess of Kent.svg|center|100x100px]]
|}

==Possible future duchesses==
Edward and Katharine's eldest son [[George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews|George Windsor]], married [[Sylvana Tomaselli]] in 1988. They are currently known by the courtesy titles Earl and Countess of St Andrews. As George is three generations removed from the crown he is not a prince. Upon his accession Sylvana would be styled ''Her Grace'' The Duchess of Kent.

George and Sylvana's only son [[Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick|Edward]], born in 1988, is currently unmarried.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Duchesses of Kent}}
{{British royal titles}}

[[Category:Duchesses of Kent| ]]
[[Category:Monarchy of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Lists of duchesses]]
[[Category:British duchesses by marriage|#]]