Queen Camilla pulls out of Duchess of Kent's funeral

Queen Camilla has pulled out of attending the funeral of Katharine, the Duchess of Kent, with "deep regret", with Buckingham Palace saying she is recovering from acute sinusitis.

But the palace says the Queen, despite this painful inflammation of the sinuses, still plans to take part in the state visit of President Trump, who will be in Windsor on Wednesday.

King Charles and other senior royals will be arriving later at the funeral of Katharine, the Duchess of Kent, at Westminster Cathedral.

It is the first Catholic funeral for a member of the Royal Family in modern times - and a message from Pope Leo will be read out during the service.

The Queen's health problem was announced by the palace ahead of the funeral, which will take place on Tuesday afternoon.

"With great regret, Her Majesty the Queen has withdrawn from attendance at this afternoon's Requiem Mass for the Duchess of Kent as she is recovering from acute sinusitis. Her thoughts and prayers will be with the Duke of Kent and all the family," said the statement.

The coffin of the duchess was brought to the cathedral on Monday, draped in the royal standard and with white roses among the flowers, in honour of the duchess' Yorkshire roots.

The duchess was the oldest member of the Royal Family when she died earlier this month at the age of 92. She was married to the first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

There have been many memories of her kindness and her dedication to charities.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who will preside over the funeral service, has spoken of how the duchess often volunteered at the Passage charity for the homeless, which is based next door to the cathedral.

Speaking ahead of the funeral, he remembered her as a "very down to earth person" who had helped in the kitchen and with cleaning at the charity.

"So as well as combining royal duties, she entered very wholeheartedly into serving people," Cardinal Nichols told the BBC.

This is a historic moment in terms of being a royal Catholic funeral, but the Cardinal said it should be seen primarily as a "family funeral where the members of the family gather round".

"One of their oldest members has died. A woman who was greatly loved within that family and also, as we've seen, by much of the public," said Cardinal Nichols.

The duchess had a deep love of music and had worked as a primary school music teacher, calling herself Mrs Kent, with the pupils not knowing anything about her royal life.

Music at the funeral will include Ave Verum Corpus by Mozart, which was selected by the duchess as her favourite piece when she was a guest on the BBC's Desert Island Discs in 1990.

A piper will play the lament Sleep, Dearie, Sleep, which was played at the funeral of the late Queen, which was three years ago this week.

There will also be music by JS Bach and from the requiem by French composer Maurice Durufle.

The duchess will also be remembered as a familiar figure at the Wimbledon tennis championships, where she handed over trophies - and consoled those who had lost, including a tearful Jana Novotna in 1993.

After the funeral at Westminster Cathedral, the coffin will be taken to the royal burial ground in Frogmore, on the Windsor estate.