I'm curious~ are the Duke and Duchess of Kent estranged? I thought I read that some where.
No formal announcement has ever been made about the state of the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, but it is tacitly acknowledged that they lead almost completely separate lives; this is in part due to the Duchess's wish to 'drop out' of active
royal engagements, which was announced, although at the time of making that announcement [when she also gave up many of her royal patronages] I do know that she was doing a lot of 'private' work both for the hospice movement, the Samaritans and the Catholic Church. Rumours have also persisted that the Kents wished to divorce but that this was discouraged by the Queen, particularly as there was no 'other person' involved, and no possibility of a remarriage - the idea being that the royal couple need not see much of each other if that was what they wanted. Whether the rumours about the marriage are true or not I do not know and have no way of knowing.
As people have noted on this forum, the Duchess is somewhat frail - generally she has not enjoyed the best of health.
I love her because of her humanity; years ago when I was in the crowds watching her do a 'walkabout', I remember a young girl had a nosebleed just as the Duchess passed by on 'bouquet collecting duties'; whilst everyone 'oohed and aahed' at the 'bad timing', the Duchess immediately sprang into action and produced her own handkerchief, i.e. giving real practical help.
I also used to adore the Duchess at Royal Ascot; when she used to return to the Royal Box, passing amongst the on-lookers, she didn't just smile and / or wave like the other royals, she used to say to everyone '
So good to see you', as if she really was both genuinely pleased to see them and as if
seeing them was the reason for her being there, not the races.
The Duchess used to be a regular at Wimbledon, and although she has effectively dropped out of royal life, I am sure that she would still have attended the tennis, which she loved, except for a horrible row that emerged between the Duchess and Wimbledon when she asked if she could bring with her to the Royal box a young child who had suffered a terrible misfortune (from memory the death of a parent) to give him a treat [I am sorry, my memory is not good on this one, but I will check] and the horrid Secretary or whoever it was at Wimbledon said 'No'. whereupon the Duchess stuck to her principles and refused to turn up.
The Royal Box at Wimbledon is something of a misnomer - although it is called by Wimbledon 'The Royal Box' and Royals do sit there, I think that in effect the box is controlled by the All England Club [i.e. not the BRF] and the Club sanctions which Royal can attend and they -Wimbledon, not the Royals - choose the strange assortment of other guests who join the royals in the box - a smattering of politicians, celebrity chefs, DJs, reality tv stars etc, not all of whom are in my very humble opinion the sort of people who should be there....
One slightly more hopeful note about the Duchess of Kent; if you read her profile on the Royal Family website, there is no reference now to her dropping out of royal life and in fact, in my very humble opinion, the entry seems quite upbeat, as if the Duchess is carrying on some form of royal work.
