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The Kents

The Duchess of Kent conducts a rare interview which will be aired next week

The Duchess of Kent has conducted a rare interview which will be broadcast on Classic FM this coming Monday.

The Duchess, who prefers to be known as Katharine Kent, has given an interview as part of a special programme on Classic FM celebrating her charity, Future Talent.

Presented by Alexander Armstrong, the programme will air on Bank Holiday Monday at 8pm, and will feature recordings of spectacular young musicians and Future Talent alumni performing at Buckingham Palace.

The Duchess of Kent helped to found Future Talent after seeing the lack of support available to talented young musicians.

The charity supports young people between the ages of 5 and 18 who would not otherwise have the financial means to develop their musical talent.

Katharine’s biggest passion in life is music, and the very few engagements which she still conducts as a member of The Royal Family are usually musically based. As well as teaching in Hull and London, the Duchess also rented out a flat in London where she taught piano lessons.

Her musical talents came to fruition when she was very young. As a schoolgirl, she was taught to play the piano, the violin and the organ, and narrowly missed out on a place at the Royal Academy of Music.

In her 2011 interview, 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 haven’t 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.”

Royal Central will bring you excerpts from the interview after it is broadcast on Monday at 8pm on Classic FM.