Lady Pender from North Court in Tilmanstone, a former county councillor for Sandwich, had died aged 70.

A Deputy Lieutenant of Kent, she was awarded the Order of the British Empire for services to the community and was a member of many groups and societies in the county.

Sandwich Rector the Rev Canon Mark Roberts said: “Lady Pender will be remembered with deep affection as she was such a lovely lady.

“Despite her recent illness I was delighted she was able to make it this year to Buckingham Palace to receive her extremely well deserved award of the OBE. She made an outstanding contribution to life in Sandwich and the surrounding communities.”

She was a chairman of the governors at Sandwich Technology School and Sir Roger Manwood’s School, Sandwich, and a county councillor from 1981 to 1997.

On Wednesday there will be a short service at St Andrew’s Church, Tilmanstone, for family and the village community, followed by burial in the churchyard. The thanksgiving service at St Clement’s Church, Sandwich, starts at 3pm.

Lady Pender who died on Thursday at Kent and Canterbury Hospital, leaves a husband Lord Pender and three children, Emma, Mary Anne and Harry.