Who will be the next Duchess of Kent and why will there will be an enormous change?

Katharine, Duchess of Kent has sadly passed away at the age of 92. The Duchess was the oldest female member of the Royal Family and had been married to the late Queen's cousin for 64 years.

While she was the latest holder of a title which has been famously held by the likes of Queen Victoria's mother and Queen Elizabeth II's aunt, there will not be another Duchess of Kent for a number of years as Prince Edward, Duke of Kent is still the royal incumbent.

However, when the time comes and the Duchess of Kent title is inherited, there will be a major change owing to a very specific royal rule.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Friday: "It is with deep sorrow that Buckingham Palace announces the death of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent. Her Royal Highness passed away peacefully last night at Kensington Palace, surrounded by her family.

"The King and Queen and all Members of The Royal Family join The Duke of Kent, his children and grandchildren in mourning their loss and remembering fondly The Duchess's life-long devotion to all the organisations with which she was associated, her passion for music and her empathy for young people."

The next Duchess of Kent will one day be Sylvana, Countess of St Andrews. She joined the Royal Family in 1988 when she married George, Earl of St Andrews - King Charles's second cousin and the Duke of Kent's eldest son.

The Canadian-born academic and historian will one day take on the Duchess of Kent title, but, in a major change, she will instead be known as Her Grace The Duchess of Kent rather than Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent.

This is down to the fact that her husband, George, is a great-grandson of a sovereign (King George V) and is therefore not entitled to a royal title owing to the rules laid out in the Letters Patent 1917.

The Earl and Countess's son, Edward Edmund Maximilian George Windsor, Lord Downpatrick was born in December 1988. The family were later joined by two daughters - Lady Marina Charlotte Alexandra Katharine Helen Windsor in September 1992 and Lady Amelia Sophia Theodora Mary Margaret Windsor in August 1995.

A devout Roman Catholic, two of Sylvana's children, Lord Edward and Lady Marina, were received into the Roman Catholic church and lost their places in the line of succession. Her youngest daughter, Lady Amelia, is protestant and still sits at 44th in line to the throne.

Away from her life a member of the Royal Family, Sylvana currently teaches at Cambridge University, where she specialises in British and French political theory in the 18th century and particularly in the history of womanhood.

She has previously written books about philosophers and thinkers - including Mary Wollstonecraft, John Lock and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.