The funeral of Katharine, Duchess of Kent, will take place at Westminster Cathedral in central London on Tuesday. She will be the first member of the Royal Family in modern British history to have a Catholic funeral. Report by Jonesia. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
00:00She was a music teacher and the shy Duchess, known to her pupil simply as Mrs Kent, who steered clear of the royal spotlight.
00:09However, the funeral of Catherine, Duchess of Kent, marks a significant moment in royal history.
00:16On Tuesday, she will be the first member of the royal family in modern British history to have a Catholic funeral.
00:23The royals are synonymous with the Church of England, which split from the Catholic Church in 1534 under the direction of King Henry VIII.
00:32To this day, the British monarch remains the Church's supreme governor.
00:37Many of the royal family's key moments have taken place at the Anglican Church of Westminster Abbey for almost a thousand years, including coronations and weddings.
00:47The Abbey sits at the eastern end of Victoria Street in central London.
00:53At the opposite western end of the street sits the lesser-known Westminster Cathedral.
00:58This ornate neo-Byzantine place of worship was built almost entirely of brick in the late 19th century and was finished in 1903.
01:07It is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, and is the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster, a post currently held by Cardinal Vincent Nicholls, who is the de facto leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
01:22Two reigning popes have celebrated Mass at the Cathedral, John Paul II on his visit to the UK in 1982, and Pope Benedict XVI on his state visit in 2010.
01:34When Catherine converted to Catholicism in 1994, she was received into the faith at Westminster Cathedral.
01:42She was also the first royal to convert to Catholicism since 1685.
01:47The year after her conversion, she accompanied Queen Elizabeth II to an evening prayer service at the Cathedral, the first attendance by a monarch as a Catholic liturgy since the Reformation of the 16th century.
01:59On Monday, the late Duchess of Kent's coffin will be borne from Kensington Palace to the Cathedral, preceded by a piper from the Royal Dragoon Guards, of which Catherine was Deputy Colonel-in-Chief.
02:12At the Cathedral, there will be a private vigil attended by Catherine's immediate family.
02:17This will include the Rite of Reception, an evening ritual welcoming the deceased into the Cathedral, and vespers, or evening prayers, for the dead.
02:27The Requiem Mass, or main funeral service, will take place on Tuesday afternoon and will be led by Cardinal Nicholls.
02:35The King, Queen and other senior royals are expected to be in attendance, alongside the Duchess's widower, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent.
02:43Catherine will be buried at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore in Windsor, the first royal to be interred here in over 20 years.
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