NEED TO KNOW
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British royal family member Lord Nicholas Windsor has reportedly separated from his wife, Paola Frankopan
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The couple married in two ceremonies in 2006 and share three sons
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Lord Nicholas’ wife allegedly missed the funeral of his mother, the late Katharine, Duchess of Kent
Lord Nicholas Windsor has reportedly split from his wife.
On Sept. 17, the Daily Mail reported that Lord Nicholas, 55, and his wife, Paola Frankopan, have separated. The couple wed in 2006 and share three sons named Albert, Leopold and Louis.
“It’s very sad, but the couple have been separated for some time,” a family friend told the outlet.
“They no longer attend family events together. Both are very conservative and dislike divorce, so apparently they will never actually get divorced,” they said.
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Lord Nicholas Windsor and Paola Doimi de Lupis de Frankopan at Royal Ascot on June 20, 2009.
Lord Nicholas, 55, is the youngest son of Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, and the late Katharine, Duchess of Kent, who died at age 92 on Sept. 4 at Kensington Palace.
The distance between Nicholas and Paola, who is also known as Lady Nicholas Windsor, was in view at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral, as Paola reportedly did not attend.
On Sept. 16, Katharine was laid to rest in a historic Catholic funeral at Westminster Cathedral, but Lord Nicholas was there without his wife.
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty
Lord Nicholas Windsor at a vigil for his late mother Katharine, the Duchess of Kent, at Westminster Cathedral on Sept. 15, 2025.
The Daily Mail and Hello! magazine reported that she was absent from the event attended by guests including King Charles, Prince William, Kate Middleton and other members of the royal family.
The Duchess of Kent’s funeral arrangements began on Sept. 15 at Westminster Cathedral with a private vigil with Rite of Reception and Vespers for her immediate family, where Lord Nicholas was photographed solo.
Nicholas and Paola’s reported separation makes news weeks before what would have been the couple’s 19th wedding anniversary.
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Lord Nicholas Windsor and Lady Nicholas Windsor attend a Christas lunch for members of the royal family hosted by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace on Dec. 19, 2012.
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According to Royal Central, the former couple tied the knot in a civil wedding in London in October 2006, followed by a religious ceremony at St. Stephen of the Abyssinians Church in Vatican City that November.
Lord Nicholas had followed in the footsteps of his mother Katharine by converting to Catholicism in 2001, and his faith was reflected in their religious wedding, which was reportedly the first to be held at Vatican City State.
He and Paola, who was born into Croatian and Italian nobility, met at a party in New York in 1999, marking the end of the millennium.
Read the original article on People