His 17th birthday was one to remember!

t is 1952 and the Duke of Kent is celebrating his 17th birthday, on this day, 73 years ago.

Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, was surrounded by family and friends to mark the occasion. However, before he could enjoy a slice of birthday cake he made a royal blunder that will have definitely made his birthday party memorable.
Evidently, The Duke of Kent made a big mistake on his 17th birthday (Credit: Knoote/ANL/Shutterstock)

The Duke of Kent’s memorable 17th birthday

Royal author Mary Riddell explored the young prince’s early years, including this very eventful bash.

The Duke of Kent was allegedly quite accident prone. In addition to that, author Riddell claimed he had displayed “erratic” and clumsy behaviour.

Consequently, resulting in the events of his 17th birthday celebrations.

At his birthday dinner, organised by the governor of Singapore, Eddie’s unpredictable behaviour was at fever pitch.

The young royal was given a curve-bladed dagger to slice his birthday cake. And he did so, so violently that he managed to instead cut open his mother’s face!

“At his 17th birthday dinner, organised by the governor of Singapore, Eddie flourished the curve-bladed dagger, or kris, provided to cut the birthday cake so violently that he managed instead to slice his mother’s face,” Riddell penned.

“Despite the blood pouring down her dress, a quick inspection showed no real damage had been done. By a millimetre or two, the blade had missed her eye, and the party went on. The episode, however, was an accurate omen of a youth marked out by both revelry and by accidents.”
The Duke of Kent accidentally injured his beloved mother, Princess Marina (left) (Credit: ANL/Shutterstock)

The Duke of Kent recalls birthday mishap

In the Duke of Kent’s private royal photo album, as per The Telegraph, Eddie recalled his jaw-dropping cake cutting shenanigan.

“It was my seventeenth birthday in Singapore. We had just come back from the jungle expedition to Government House and they gave me this huge cake. The parang was presented, and I thought it would be a good idea to use it to put out the candles. It was quite big and sharp, of course. As I lowered it towards the candles, I heard a tinkle behind me and, to my horror, I saw my mother holding her hand up to her face. I had slit her eyebrow with the sword. Had she been standing half an inch closer, it would have been terrible.

“Thank God it was all right.”A side note in the album detailed: “In the 1960s Princess Marina gave the parang to a military museum in Maidstone, telling them that her son had ‘nearly beheaded’ her with it.”

Ultimately, Princess Marina was okay and thankfully wasn’t seriously injured.

The Duke of Kent’s unpredictable behaviour in younger years

Although, Prince Eddie’s chaos didn’t end there. It seems that the Duke of Kent’s surprising behaviour continued beyond his birthday blunder. In fact, he was known to frequently crash his vehicles.

“One of the duke’s frequent crashes made a splash in the News Chronicle on June 21, 1954. ‘Duke of Kent: Concussion’, the headline said, over a story announcing that Princess Marina was waiting at her son’s bedside as leading surgeons assessed him for possible brain damage. The duke quickly recovered consciousness.The accidents were chiefly the product of the duke’s obsession with cars,” Riddell explained.

Today, October 9, 2025, The Duke of Kent is celebrating his 90th birthday. We are sure Prince Edward’s 90th will be a little bit more peaceful, marked by a reception hosted by King Charles, with hopefully no cake slashing involved.

Happy birthday, Your Royal Highness!