Princess Kate and King Charles’s close bond was evident at the funeral of Katharine, Duchess of Kent.
After the Catholic Requiem Mass at Westminster Cathedral on Tuesday, September 16, the Royal Family gathered on the cathedral steps as the Duchess’s coffin was moved into a hearse.
Before the King departed, Princess Kate said goodbye with a kiss on each cheek and a quick curtsy while keeping her hands on his shoulders.
The interaction highlighted the warm relationship between the King, 76, and his daughter-in-law, 43.
Princess Kate shows bond with King Charles in affectionate farewell at Duchess of Kent funeral
|GETTY
He referred to Kate as "my beloved daughter-in-law" during a state banquet in Kenya in October 2023, recalling how Prince William proposed to her in the country in 2010.
Their connection has deepened in recent years as both received cancer diagnoses in 2024.
Royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith told People last year that King Charles "has always had a very good bond" with Kate.
"I don’t think it is presumptuous to say that she is like the daughter he never had," she said. "He shares with William an impulse to protect her. They are in this together, Kate and the King."
Princess Kate and King Charles sharing a kiss on the cheek after the funeral
|PA
A royal source added that beyond their roles as King and future Queen, they are "two patients going through a common health experience."
In addition, they "are bound to have a close connection… I imagine there was some comfort [for Kate] in seeing… that it was possible to balance some private information without there being an imperative to share all."
Members of the Royal Family attended the service to honour the Duchess of Kent, who died on September 4.
Katharine married Queen Elizabeth’s cousin, the Duke of Kent, and is survived by her husband, their three children and 10 grandchildren.
Princess Kate curtsying before King Charles after the funeral
|GETTY
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Those present included Princess Anne and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence.
In addition, Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh attended without her husband, Prince Edward, who is currently in Papua New Guinea.
Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York made surprise appearances, alongside close family members Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
King Charles, Prince William and Princess Kate led the senior royals at the funeral | REUTERSOur Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter