Princess Katarina was born in London to Prince Tomislav of Yugoslavia, second son of Alexander I, King of Yugoslavia, and his wife, Princess Margarita of Baden. Her Royal Highness has one brother, Prince Nicholas of Yugoslavia, and two half-brothers, Prince George and Prince Michael, and she is the first cousin of Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia. Her late uncle HM King Peter II, who was forced into exile from his country during the Second World War.

 

In 1987 Princess Katarina married the late Sir Desmond Lorenz de Silva QC. They divorced on 6 May 2010. They had one daughter, Victoria Marie Esmé Margarita de Silva. 

 

Princess Katarina is in the line of succession to the British throne as a descendant of Queen Victoria.  Following the death of her mother in 2013, Princess Katarina became the senior female descendant of Queen Victoria, from whom she descends paternally through Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and maternally through Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, both the second son and daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The Princess is the granddaughter of Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, therefore was a great-niece of  The late HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, consort of The Late Queen Elizabeth II and His Majesty King Charles III. 

 

HRH Princess Katarina is The President of The Guild of Travel and Tourism and is actively involved in supporting many charitable causes. Her Royal Highness is the patron of The Royal School of Etiquette and Butlers, where she teaches as a senior lecturer alongside Grant Harrold, Former Butler to HRH The Prince of Wales.