The often unspoken Kennedy tragedy: Caroline and JFK Jr were bonded by their heartbreaking losses. Then they were torn apart

A lot has been written about the tragedies surrounding the Kennedy family, with the supposed "curse of Camelot".

But one that's lesser discussed is that of Caroline Kennedy – the daughter of assassinated US President JFK and "America's widow" Jacqueline Kennedy, and last surviving member of their family.

Caroline and her younger brother John F. Kennedy Jr (JFK Jr) were bonded from a young age after their father was killed in November 1963, in a moment captured on film and beamed around the world.

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Then, their uncle Robert Kennedy, who became a father figure to the siblings following their dad's death, was also assassinated five years later, in 1968.

The pair faced intense scrutiny in the decades that followed, growing up in the spotlight, with paparazzi capturing their every move through college, relationships and work.

As their lives veered in different directions, which is common of many siblings, the death of their mother – nicknamed Jackie O after she wed shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis – in 1994 saw the brother and sister become incredibly close.

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Yet, cruelly, the duo were ripped apart just five years later when JFK Jr died in a plane crash with his wife Carolyn Bessette and her sister Lauren.

It's something briefly captured as a subplot in the new Ryan Murphy drama series Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, in which the siblings are portrayed by Paul Anthony Kelly and Grace Gummer.

In the years since her brother's death, Caroline has protected their close relationship fiercely, rarely making a comment about him, his wife or their relationship.

JFK Jr's sister chose not to hold a public memorial following his death, to avoid excessive media attention.

Instead, his remains were cremated as per his wishes and scattered in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, where the light aircraft he was piloting crashed.

In his will, JFK Jr had bequeathed his half of political magazine George, which he co-created, to his sister.

However, she believed he wouldn't want the publication to continue on without him and closed it down two years later.

Caroline did, however, make a rare comment about her brother while opening a building in his honour in September 2003.

"More than anyone I've ever known, John had a way of looking at the world that was all his own," she said at the unveiling of the Institute of Politics Harvard Kennedy School.

"John would also get a giant kick out of this event, and I know the joke would be at my expense somehow: 'You went to Harvard and now they're naming half the building after me.'"

She added that underlying her brother's great sense of humour was an "incredible sense of purpose".

"Starting George was a bold and unconventional move, which is why it was perfect for John," Caroline said of the magazine he named after the first US President, George Washington.

"John was one of those revolutionary spirits ... and George was his way to reach people on the issues of the day".

An esteemed author herself, Caroline eventually went into the family business and got involved in politics, going on to become the US Ambassador to Australia from 2022-2024.

The mother of three quite literally flew the flag for America at the Australian Open, where she sat next to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in 2023.

The ambassador also attended an NRL match on the Gold Coast, kitted out in Titans gear.

Caroline was also a diplomat in Japan for four years – the first woman to ever hold that position – and is now on the board of the US-Japan Foundation.

The 68-year-old also serves as the Chair of the Senior Advisory Committee of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University but largely now focuses her time on her family's charitable endeavours.

Tragically, on January 5, Caroline buried her younger daughter Tatiana Schlossberg, who died in December at the age of 35.

Schlossberg had a brief battle with an aggressive blood cancer, which she was diagnosed hours after giving birth to her second child in May 2024.

The mum of two, an environmental journalist, wrote a heartbreaking essay for The New Yorker on her diagnosis and said her main concern was her mother.

"For my whole life, I have tried to be good, to be a good student and a good sister and a good daughter, and to protect my mother and never make her upset or angry," she wrote.

"Now I have added a new tragedy to her life, to our family's life, and there's nothing I can do to stop it."

Through all of the tragedies Caroline's faced, she's done so with the poise of her famous mother and done her bit to continue on the family name and legacy.

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