Royal Profile:Prince Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick, The Duke of Kent

Prince Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick, The Duke of Kent was born 9 October 1935 at the family's London residence as the elder son of Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Mariana of Greece {Source}. He is a nephew of King George VI and King Edward VIII, thus a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II{Source}. He has two younger siblings {Source}:

• Prince Michael of Kent
• Princess Alexandra of Kent, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy

After he was born, his family moved form London to Buckinghamshire {Source}. When he was just seven years old, his father, Prince George, Duke of Kent died in a tragic wartime flying accident near Caithness in Scotland while on active service {Source}. It was then, that the young Prince Edward would become The Duke of Kent {Source}.

His education began at Ludgrove Preparatory School (where Prince Harry was also a pupil), and later to Eton and Le Rosey in Switzerland{Source}. During his time at Eton, he was active in rowing, and in Switzerland he was captian of the regimental ski team in the Army championships{Source}. When he finished his formal schooling, he attended Sandhurst Military Academy {Source}. During his time at Sandhurst, he won the Sir James Moncrieff Grierson Prize for foreign languages and qualified as a French interpreter{Source}. After graduating Sandhurst in 1955 as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Scots Greys, he served with his regiment at home and overseas for the next 21 years {Source}. He led missions in Hong Kong, Cyprus, among others. He retired from the military in 1976 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and was later promoted to Field Marshal in 1993 {Source}. He retains close relations with the Army, holding a number of senior appointments and visiting his reigiments on a regular basis, most recently in 2008 to Afganistan and Iraq to meet with member of the Scots Guards {Source}.

Like most royals in those days, he began undertaking royal duties in his teens. In 1951, he walked behind the coffin of his uncle King George VI at his State Funeral. In 1953, he was one of the royals in attendance at his cousin's coronation {Source}. He is a personal-aide-de-campe to Queen Elizabeth, Colonel of the Scots Guards, Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, Royal Colonel of 1st Battalion The Rifles, and Colonel-in-Chief of the Lorne Scots Regiment (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment) - in Canada. He is also Deputy Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, in which he served in his youth. In the Royal Air Force he is an Honorary Air Chief Marshal, and Honorary Air Commodore of Royal Air Force Station Leuchars in Fife, Scotland.{Source}.

In 1961, his engagement to Miss Katharine Worsley was announced, and they were married in June of 1961 {Source}.  Together, they have three children and eight grandchildren{Source}:

• George, Earl of St Andrews(1962)
• Sylvanna Windsor, Countess of St. Andrews (1957)
• Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick (1988)
• The Lady Marina Charlotte Windsor (1992)
• The Lady Amelia Windsor (1995)
• The Lady Helen Taylor (1964)
• Mr. Timothy Taylor (1963)
• Mr Columbus George Donald Taylor (t 1994)
• Mr Cassius Edward Taylor (1996)
• Miss Eloise Olivia Katherine Taylor (2003)
• Miss Estella Olga Elizabeth Taylor (2004)
• Lord Nicholas Windsor (1970)
• Paola Doimi de Lupis de Frankopan aka Lady Nicholas Windsor (1969)
• Master Albert Windsor (2007)
• Master Leopold Ernest Augustus Guelph Windsor (2009)

In 2013, he suffered a mild health scare with a mild stroke {Source}. At his birth he was 7th in line for the throne after his father, two cousins (Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret), three uncles (King Edward VIII, King George VI, Prince Henry), today, he is 33rd after the expansion of the family.