King, William, Kate and Andrew among royals at Duchess of Kent’s funeral – as Queen missing due to illness

The Prince and Princess of Wales are among members of the Royal Family attending the Duchess of Kent’s funeral after the Queen was forced to pull out due to illness.

Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York have also arrived at Westminster Cathedral for the funeral service.

The King is also attending but without the Queen as she is recovering from acute sinusitis.

Buckingham Palace announced this this afternoon that the Queen wouldn’t attend the Requiem Mass.

“With great regret, Her Majesty The Queen has withdrawn from attendance at this afternoon’s Requiem Mass for The Duchess of Kent as she is recovering from acute sinusitis. Her thoughts and prayers will be with The Duke of Kent and all the family,” a Palace spokesperson said.

The Palace added that she hopes to recover in time for the forthcoming State Visit and other engagements later this week.

She travelled from Scotland this morning and is now resting at Windsor.

The Princess Royal and Sir Tim Laurence, the Duchess of Edinburgh and the close family of the Duke and Duchess of Kent were among other mourners at the funeral.

Former Formula One world champion Sir Jackie Stewart and actresses Rula Lenska and Dame Maureen Lipman were present.

The requiem mass, a Catholic funeral, is the first to be held for a member of the monarchy in modern British history and will feature a Scottish bagpipe lament performed during Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022.

The funeral is being conducted by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, leader of the Roman Catholic church in England and Wales.

A piper from The Royal Dragoon Guards will play the lament – Sleep, Dearie, Sleep – while processing from the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary, past the duchess’s coffin in the Nave and down the cathedral’s central aisle.

The late Queen’s funeral service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, ended with a piper playing the same tune.

The Duchess of York’s coffin is a wicker construction made from English willow and is draped with the royal standard which has a white ermine border signifying she was the spouse of a prince.

A large wreath of British garden flowers, chosen by the duchess’s family, has been placed on top of the coffin and includes white roses, the symbol of Yorkshire, the county where she was born, and sprigs of yew from the gardens of Hovingham Hall, the duchess’s childhood home, representing eternal life.

Hers is the first royal funeral at the cathedral, in Victoria, central London, since its construction in 1903.

The King is not the first monarch to have attended a Catholic funeral, as Queen Elizabeth II attended the Catholic state funeral of King Baudouin of the Belgians, at St Michael’s Cathedral in Brussels, in August 1993.

Charles, when Prince of Wales, went to Pope John Paul II’s funeral, representing his mother the late Queen, in 2005, while his son William attended Pope Francis’s funeral mass earlier this year.