About the book: The Duchess of Kent, tireless and genuinely compassionate, is perhaps best known for her presence at Wimbledon, her work for UNICEF and other charities and as a devoted mother.
But there has also been a darker side to Katharine Worsley's royal existence. Despite her anxieties about the wisdom of her marriage to the Duke of Kent in 1961, she struggled to come to terms with royal duty and endured the shadow of her formidable mother-in-law, Princess Marina. Then personal tragedies - chiefly a termination and the stillbirth of her last child - led to a nervous breakdown and a chronicle of ill-health.
She continued to carry out royal duties, some of which she relished, such as her appearances at Wimbledon. Finally, it was announced she was suffering from ME. At around the same time, she was received into the Roman Catholic Church. Underlying her search for physical and spiritual healing were other undisclosed problems.
Mary Riddell's much-discussed, analytical and immaculately researched book also examines the destructive impact of the Royal Family, and its courtiers, on outsiders drawn into the inner circle.
In this account of the Duchess' search for a means of survival, Mary Riddell has accomplished the definitive biography of one of the most liked and well-respected members of the Royal Family.
The Duchess of Kent (1999) is Mary Riddell's first book.
About the author: Mary Riddell is a journalist and writer. She was a columnist for the Observer (2001-2008). After reading modern languages at Nottingham University, she began her journalistic career on regional papers. She is a former deputy editor of Today, and her writing awards include Interviewer of the Year in the British Press Awards for a portfolio of political profiles. She interviewed for The Times, the Guardian and YOU magazine before becoming a weekly columnist and later an interviewer for the New Statesman and the Daily Mail. Mary Riddell is a member of the advisory board of Out of Trouble, which is affiliated with the Prison Reform Trust. Riddell is married to John Shute, an oilfield exploration manager. They have two sons and live in London.
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