Duchess of Kent: The musical royal and her life teaching at a school in Hull
The power of music: The Duchess during her interview on the show
When ill health caused her to vanish from the royal circuit, many thought the Duchess of Kent had become something of a recluse.
The truth was very different. It later emerged she had been teaching music at a state primary school in Hull most of the time in anonymity.
Now in a revealing interview the 78-year-old has told how her eight years in the classroom were the most wonderful of her life. She spoke about the tickle of excitement she got when she recognised talent in her pupils.
And she spoke of her fears that music could disappear from the school curriculum altogether, depriving under-privileged children of any stimulation.
In a pre-recorded interview to be broadcast on The Alan Titchmarsh Show on ITV1 today, the duchess also gave an insight into her very un-royal life describing how she was known to her pupils as plain Mrs Kent, uses an iPhone and listens to commercial pop station Heart FM.
As a schoolgirl she was taught to play the piano, the violin and the organ, narrowly missing out on a place at the Royal Academy of Music.
She pursued her passion for music through finishing school in Oxford and grew up dreaming of playing Carnegie Hall.
She said wistfully: You go gradually downhill and I ended up teaching in Hull.
It was during a self-imposed exile from public life in 1996 that she was encouraged to visit Wansbeck Primary School by a friend who had moved to the city.
It was during a self-imposed ex! ile from public life in 1996 that she was encouraged to visit Wansbeck Primary School, where she taught for 13 years
Overhearing the head speaking about the desperate need for a music teacher, the duchess whose husband is the Queens cousin volunteered. In total she was involved with the school for 13 years.
She said: When I was teaching the first thing I began to notice was the power of music as a stimulant to these children to give them confidence and self-belief. I began to see that happen all the time.
Some of the children I taught havent necessarily become musicians, but the confidence it has given them, some have joined the Army, some to university, which they might not have done otherwise.
I have always loved talent, I love that tickle up the neck when you see talent and I began to realise I was teaching some very, very gifted children.
She said music had the power to help children over the virtual Berlin Wall that surrounds some sink estates.
Asked if music is underrated in schools, the duchess said fervently: Oh my goodness is it underrated. I would love to see one of the arts being compulsory at GCSE level. I think that would be wonderful.
Someone asked me the other day, why wasnt music as popular as football and I couldnt answer at the time because I was nervous but then I realised that music is so much more popular than football. There isnt a person in the world who doesnt tap their feet to music.
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Since leaving teaching, the duchess has launched a music charity, Future Talent, which aims to help gifted children develop their musical prowess.
The charity now works with orchestras such as the Hall in Manchester and links them with primary and secondary schools.
The royal is far from being a technophobe, using an iPhone app that identifies songs just from the tune.
She said: I have Shazam on my iPhone so if I dont know a song and love it I can find out.
The duchess has three children with her husband, the Duke of Kent George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, Lady Helen Taylor and Lord Nicholas Windsor.
However, following the stillbirth of her fourth child in 1977, she suffered recurrent health problems.
Her withdrawal from the royal circuit later led to claims that she had become a recluse. Public appearances became even rarer following her decision to convert to Catholicism in 1994, the first senior royal to convert publicly since the passing of the 1701 Act of Settlement.
However, it was then revealed the duchess had in fact been busy working with UNICEF and then in Hull.
Mr Titchmarsh asked: Youre happier being Mrs Kent. Were there barriers being in the way being the duchess?
She replied: I never even thought about it, I just was Mrs Kent, I never questioned it.
She added that her connection with the school would always be there. I love those children, I loved being there and I love Hull, I wouldnt have stayed there if I hadnt.
The interview is on The Alan Titchmarsh Show today at 3pm.
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