Prince Edward, Duke of Kent made a rare public appearance on Monday, visiting Bletchley Park to tour a new exhibition, “The Age of AI.” Open since February, it examines the development of artificial intelligence and the technology’s impact on daily life. The Duke toured the site before attending an afternoon tea with four World War II veterans in the Mansion Dining Room. The exhibition is open through late 2026, and admission is included in the price of entry to the museum.
At 90 years old, the Duke of Kent is the oldest member of the British royal family and a first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth. He’s been a working member of the royal family since he retired from the British Army in 1976, and though he has slowed down in recent years, the Duke of Kent still carries out a few royal engagements each year. However, he has taken a considerable step back since the death of his wife, Katharine, Duchess of Kent, last September.
Bletchley Park, located in Buckinghamshire and approximately 50 miles northwest of London, served as Britain’s central codebreaking site during World War II. The top-secret location employed thousands of computer scientists, including Alan Turing, who worked to decipher Axis communications, producing intelligence that contributed to several key Allied victories, including D-Day, and is widely credited with shortening the war. Early computing breakthroughs developed there, including machines designed to accelerate codebreaking efforts, laid the groundwork for modern computer science. The operation remained classified for decades after the war, as did the details about the workforce, which included a large number of women, who ranged from mathematicians to linguists to scholars.
HEATHCLIFF O’MALLEY//Getty Images
The Princess of Wales using an Enigma cipher code machine during her visit to Bletchley Park during her visit in 2019.
Among them was Kate Middleton’s grandmother, Valerie Glassborow, who worked at the Park in an administrative role. The Princess of Wales has visited Bletchley Park on a few occasions, including in 2014 and 2019, the latter to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.