Happy Birthday to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, who turns 90 today! The longest-serving duke in British history, who served as Special Representative for International Trade and Investment and presented the Wimbledon Trophies for over 50 years , today, we are featuring 90 Facts about the Duke of Kent on his 90th Birthday!
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- The eldest son of Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent was born at No. 3 Belgrave Square.
- The first male-line grandson, Prince Edward was born just a few months before the death of his paternal grandfather, King George V
- Prince Edward has a younger sister, Princess Alexandra, and brother, Prince Michael
- Prince Edward became the Duke of Kent when his father died in a plane crash in 1942, during the Second World War
- During his childhood, the family resided in a house in Belgrave Square and Coppins, the estate his father had inherited from his aunt, Princess Victoria just a few weeks after Prince Edward’s birth.
- Many childhood summers were spent with his Yugoslav and Törring-Jettenbach cousins at Brdo Castle in Slovenia, the summer home of his aunt and uncle, the Prince Regent of Yugoslavia.
- In addition to Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, Prince William and Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent’s first cousins include Archduchess Helene of Austria, Prince Alexander and Princess Elisabeth of Yugoslavia, and the Count zu Toerring-Jettenbach.
- His maternal grandparents are Prince Nicholas of Greece and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia,
- The Duke of Kent’s royal duties began in 1952, at the age of sixteen, when he walked in the procession for the Funeral of King George VI.
- The first Royal Tour came later that year, when Prince Edward joined his mother, the Duchess of Kent, on her Far East Tour in 1952, visiting Singapore, Malaya, Borneo, Brunei, Sarawak, and Hong Kong before stopping in Athens.
- The Duke of Kent finished his schooling at the Institut Le Rosey, an exclusive boys’ school in Geneva, alongside Prince Shāh Karim al-Husayni, the Aga Khan IV, Maharajah Satrushalyasinhji of Nawanagar, and the Earl of Suffolk, who were all photographed for LIFE.
- The Duke of Kent was among the leading Royal Dukes at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, the third to pay homage to the Sovereign after her Crowning.
- After school, Prince Edward joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. where he won an award for being good at foreign languages.
- The Duke of Kent became a second lieutenant in the Royal Scots Greys in 1955. This was the start of his military career, which lasted over 20 years.
- The Duke of Kent was promoted to captain in 1961, and from 1962 to 1963, he served in Hong Kong.
- The Duke was promoted to major in 1967 and in 1970, he led a group of soldiers in Cyprus as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.
- The Duke also served for a short time in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s.
- However, at the behest of the late Queen reportedly out of fear he might be kidnapped, the then Prime Minister Edward Heath, ordered he not be sent to Belfast without special orders and he was soon transferred away from the country.
- The Duke retired from the army on 15 April 1976.
- Following his army career, the Duke of Kent was given the honorary rank of major-general in 1983 and field marshal in 1993.
- He met met Katherine Worsley while living at Catterick Camp, an English military base.
- After a separation of a year, enforced by his mother who opposed “thought of a commoner marrying her eldest son”, the Duke of Kent literally fell head over heels in love with Katherine Worsley when he broke a bone in his foot as he ran down steps to greet her.
- After the separation of one year, the then Miss Worsley flew off to stay with her brother in Toronto, where she worked as an assistant in Birks’ jewellery store before taking a Greyhound bus with a friend to Vancouver, San Francisco and then Mexico City, where a in love Duke of Kent sent a bouquet of flowers with the single letter “E”, and after that the future Duchess of Kent made her decision.
- During the Duke and Duchess of Kent’s wedding, the then Prince Juan Carlos and Princess Sophie of Greece started their relationship. Now they’re Emeritus King and Queen of Spain.
- The Duke had the first Royal Wedding at York Minster in 633 years, after the 1328 wedding of King Edward III to Phillipa of Hainault.
- The Duke and Duchess of Kent have three children: George, Earl of St Andrews, Lady Helen Taylor, and Lord Nicholas Windsor, and ten grandchildren.
- The Duchess was the first prominent member of the Royal Family to have converted to Catholicism since the 1701 Act of Settlement, but it didn’t affect the Duke’s place in the line of succession to the throne.
- In 1972, the family seat of Coppins in Buckinghamshire was sold due to financial difficulties
- The Duke and Duchess of Kent and their three children lived at York House in London, residing there for two decades until their move to Kensington Palace.
- The Duke has 10 grandchildren
- Six grandsons and four granddaughters
- The Kent Family’s country home from from 1972 to 1990 was Amner Hall in Norfolk, near Sandringham, which is now the country home of the Prince and Princess of Wales and their family.
- The Duke and Duchess of Kent lived at Wren House, which is part the grounds of Kensington Palace in London.
- During the Covid lockdown, their granddaughter, Lady Marina Windsor , resided with the Duke and Duchess at Wren House.
- In 2013, the Duke had a mild stroke.
- In 2015, the Duke had a hip injury and needed treatment in the hospital.
- Since 1977, the Duke of Kent has been the Colonel-in-Chief of The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment) in Canada
- The Duke of Kent has carried out many duties for his cousin, Queen Elizabeth II, for over 50 years.
- The Duke of Kent represented the Queen at independence celebrations in several Commonwealth countries, like Sierra Leone, Guyana, Ghana, Gambia and Namibia.
- The Duke has also acted as a Counsellor of State when the Queen was away from the UK.
- For many years, the Duke was a vice-chairman of British Trade International, traveling to other countries to help Britain build trade relationships.
- The Duke of Kent was the first member of the royal family to visit China in 1979, focusing on British energy.
- From 1971 to 2000, the Duke of Kent was the president of The Football Association, which runs football in England, and a role now held by the Prince of Wales.
- The Duke has been the president of The Scout Association since 1975.
- The Duke and Duchess of Kent attended Crown Prince Harald’s 50th Birthday Banquet in 1987.
- The Duke of Kent was notably president of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club from 1969 to 2021, succeeding his mother, Princess Marina.
- As President of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club since 1969, each summer The Duke attended Wimbledon and presented the winners’ trophies to the champions at the end of the tournament.
- The Duke was succeeded as president of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club by the Princess of Wales.
- Since 1966, the Duke has been a Personal Aide-de-Camp to the Sovereign
- The Duke is also involved with many other organizations. These include the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the RAF Benevolent Fund, and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
- The Duke is also a patron of the American Air Museum in Britain and Opera North.
- The Duke is also a Chancellor of the University of Surrey since 1976
- In 2015, the Duke of Kent received the Dresden Peace Prize for helping to improve relations between Britain and Germany.
- The Duke appeared with the late Queen on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022
- After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Kent became the oldest living descendant of King George V and also the last surviving descendant born during King George V’s lifetime.
- The Duke of Kent was the colonel of the Scots Guards for 50 years, from 1974 to 2024, the longest-serving colonel of that regiment.
- In 1990, Prince Edward became a Royal Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)
- One of his major roles is acting as president of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, an organization that honors Commonwealth veterans of the two World Wars with over 23,000 memorials.
- The Duke is the only surviving member of the Royal Family to have lived through five Reigns, his grandfather, two uncles, cousin and cousin’s son.
- The Duke of Kent became a Freemason in 1963 and was elected as the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1967, the 10th and longest-serving Grand Master.
- The Duke and Duchess of Kent joined the Swedish Royal Family for a Banquet at the Royal Palace of Stockholm in 1989.
- Prince Edward has been the Duke of Kent for over 82 years, making him the longest-serving duke in British history
- The Duke has been a patron of the renowned concert hall Wigmore Hall in London for many years.
- His first engagement after the Duchess’s passing was, in fact, a concert at this very venue.
- In 2025, the Duke is involved with 25 institutions related to the Armed Forces, serving as a patron, colonel, field marshal, or in other forms of engagement.
- The Duke of Kent has been President of the Board of Trustees for the Imperial War Museum since 1974 in this role he lends his support to exhibitions and keeps informed about the developments for the museum.
- In 2025, the Duke is involved with 13 institutions related to Business and Industry serving as a patron, president or Honorary Fellow.
- The Duke of Kent has been President of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) since 1969, succeeding his parents.
- The Duke regularly visits lifeboat stations nationwide to meet the dedicated volunteer crews and the fundraisers who support their vital work saving lives at sea.
- The Duke has been President of the Stroke Association since 1977, and has helped to promote fundraising for this charity that seeks to educate the public about the risks of strokes
- In 2025, the Duke is currently involved with 12 institutions related to Science and Technology serving as a patron, president or Honorary Fellow.
- As a great sportist, the Duke in 2025 is currently involved with 18 institutions related to the sports.
- In 2010 The Duke of Kent became the first Patron of St Mungo’s Broadway, a homelessness charity and housing association in England.
- The Duke is committed to supporting the organisation which helps men and women with accommodation, advice, health services and skills development, by helping to raise awareness of the problems faced by the homeless.
- The Duke is very involved with sportism as an example, he is adventurous for the ski slopes of Switzerland while The late Duchess loved her less adventurous cross-country ski-ing in Norway.
- The Duke is also Patron of a number of other sporting bodies, including the Ski Club of Great Britain; Kent County Cricket Club; and Royal West Norfolk Golf Club.
- He is President-in-Chief of The British Racing Drivers’ Club.
- In 2025, the Duke is involved with 12 institutions related to healthcare serving as a patron or president.
- As Vice Chairman of the Overseas Trade Board and later British Trade International (now known as UK Trade and Investment) from 1976 to 2001.
- The Duke undertook over 60 overseas trips to promote British trade and exports, including to Europe, Japan, Australia and the Middle East.
- The Duke of Kent still retains an interest in British business at home and overseas.
- A number of the organisations with which The Duke is affiliated reflect his personal interest in technology and industry, including the Royal Institution, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society whose Summer Exhibition he visits each year to view a number of the latest developments in science.
- The Duke’s personal passion for music is reflected in his support for many musical organisations, from the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Opera North, to the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in Greenwich, one of the UK’s leading music colleges, and to regional festivals such as those at Newbury and King’s Lynn.
- The Duke of Kent has for decades been active in fostering British-German relations.
- The Duke is Patron of the British German Association and the Dresden Trust, which both share this underlying aim.
- On 14 February 2015, The Duke of Kent was awarded The Dresden International Peace Prize for his contribution to the reconciliation of Great Britain and Germany.
- Since the late Duchess was a catholic, the Duke hosted the first catholic funeral of a member of the Royal Family in centuries.
- For the Duke’s Birthday last year, there was a special bagpipes celebration of three pipers from Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
- The Duke remains one of the longest serving members of the Royal Family, having lived under so any reigns!
We wish HRH a very Happy Birthday and Many Happy Returns!
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