Queen Elizabeth’s cousin Katharine Bowes Lyon has died.
Miss Bowes Lyon, the mentally handicapped niece of the late British Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, died aged 87 last month (23.03.14), although her family decided not to announce her death.
Katharine and her sister Nerissa, who was also mentally handicapped and died in 1986, were the subject of a controversial documentary entitled ‘The Queen’s Hidden Cousins’, which was broadcast on Channel 4 two years ago.
According to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, the title suggested the Royal family had behaved uncaringly towards the sisters and Lady Elizabeth Anson, the queen’s cousin, revealed the programme had "hurt" the 87-year-old monarch.
Lady Elizabeth slammed the programmed, calling it"an intrusion of privacy" and accused TV bosses of "capitalising on the royal connection and ignoring the facts, as the sisters have always been looked after by that family".
She said Katherine, who was the daughter of the late John and Fenella Bowes Lyon, was happy in a care home that was suited to her needs and had "regular visitors."
A private funeral has been held for Katharine and a Buckingham Palace spokesman declined to comment on her death.
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