'Our family is heartbroken': Kerry Kennedy leads tributes to niece, granddaughter of Robert F Kennedy, who died at 42

Kyle Francis Kennedy passed away on September 21 at her Westwood, Massachusetts home; no cause of death has yet been established. The educator had sustained a severe spinal cord injury that left her permanently paralysed. A private funeral preceded her death becoming public knowledge following the publication of an obituary this week. Aunt Rory Kennedy called her 'a wonder' and 'funny and fierce and much beloved by all of us'.

Her father, Michael Kennedy, died in a 1997 Aspen skiing accident when she was 13.

She and ex-husband Liam Kerr lost their baby daughter Josie shortly after birth.

Rory Kennedy tried to resuscitate Michael by performing CPR on the slopes before he died.