Duchess of Kent's Catholic requiem mass at Westminster Cathedral

The Duchess of Kent, Katharine, will be remembered today at a requiem mass at Westminster Cathedral, the first Catholic funeral for a member of the British royal family in modern history. The service follows private funeral rites held on Monday evening when her coffin was taken from Kensington Palace to the cathedral in central London, preceded briefly by a piper from The Royal Dragoon Guards and carried into the building by soldiers from the same regiment.

Katharine, who died peacefully at home on September 4 aged 92, converted to Roman Catholicism in 1994 and had expressed a wish for her funeral to be held at Westminster Cathedral. On Monday night the coffin rested overnight in the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary after rites that included a Vigil for the Deceased, a Rite of Reception and Vespers led by Bishop James Curry, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, officials said. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, is set to preside over the requiem mass, and organisers said the service would include a message from the Pope.

The coffin, a wicker construction made from English willow and draped with the Royal Standard edged with white ermine to signify she was the...