HMS Kent was launched on 27 September 1961 and commissioned on 15 August 1963.

After commissioning she spent the balance of her career as an escort to the Royal Navy's aircraft carrier fleet. She deployed at various times with HMS's Victorious, Eagle and Hermes in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. 

One role was as host ship for the Withdrawal from Empire negotiations in Gibraltar. She suffered a fire during refitting in 1976 but was soon repaired and was present for the Silver Jubilee fleet review of 1977. All four of the batch-1 County-class vessels were to have mid-life refits and the superior Sea Slug Mk-2 system fitted; however, this was cancelled due to the mid-1970s cut-backs and Hampshire and Devonshire paid off early in 1976 and 1978 respectively.

 Kent was decommissioned in the summer of 1980, after only 17 years of active service and became the replacement for HMS Fife and Fleet Training Ship, moored to the lower end of Whale Island outboard of the defunct support ship HMS Rame Head. At the beginning of the Falklands War, she was surveyed for possible recommissioning (her large size, helicopter deck and four 4.5-inch guns would have made her a good command and shore bombardment ship), but her two years of unmaintained status meant a substantial amount of refit would be required to make her seaworthy, and no work was begun. 

She spent 1982 through to 1984 as a live asset for artificer and mechanic training supporting HMS Collingwood and HMS Sultan, her machinery largely in serviceable condition. In 1984 she also became a harbour training ship for the Sea Cadet Corps. She was paid off from this in 1987 and became a training hulk at Portsmouth until 1996. 

Kent was sold for scrap, and in 1998 she was towed to India to be broken up