Pope Leo XIV's touching gesture to Royal Family at Duchess of Kent's funeral revealed

A message from Pope Leo XIV will be read out at the Duchess of Kent's funeral later today, it has been confirmed. While it is not yet known what the message will say, it is a touching nod to the Duchess, who was a devoted Roman Catholic.

The Duchess of Kent's funeral service will take place at Westminter Cathedral in London this afternoon. Marking the first Catholic funeral held for a member of the Royal Family since the Reformation, the King, Queen and Prince and Princess of Wales will attend the service in what has been hailed as a key moment for ecumenical relations.

The Duchess sadly passed away at the age of 92 at Kensington Palace on September 4.

Last night, her wicker coffin arrived at the Cathedral, having moved from her home at Kensington Palace. It remained there overnight. Soldiers from The Royal Dragoon Guards have played an important role during her Catholic funeral, which traditionally runs over two days, with a piper leading the funeral cortege and other soldiers carrying the coffin into the cathedral when it arrived on Monday evening.

The Duchess became the first member of the Royal Family to convert to Catholicism in more than 300 years. Her husband did not convert, so he remained in the line of succession.

It was her wish to have her funeral at Westminster Cathedral, marking the first royal funeral at the cathedral since its construction in 1903.

After the service, the coffin will be taken by hearse to the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore, Windsor - the Duchess' final resting place.

The Royal Burial Ground has been a resting place for members of the Royal Family since the consecration of the ground in 1928, and is a short distance from Windsor Castle.

As it is a private cemetery, which is just south of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's Mausoleum, family members of the Duchess will be able to visit her resting place in peace.