Kate Middleton's Reaction Revealed: Lip Reader Shares What Princess Thought About Standing Ovation at Wimbledon
Kate Middleton received a standing ovation at Wimbledon on Sunday, July 14, as the Princess of Wales attended the final match amid her cancer battle.
Kate is a Wimbledon regular, but fans wondered if her ongoing cancer battle would impact her ability to attend.
Lip reader Jeremy Freeman noticed the future queen was appreciative of the warm welcome. Before taking her seat in the royal box, Freeman saw Kate saying “hi” to fellow spectators, going on to call the audience's applause “so sweet.”
Aside from cheering on the tennis players, Kate quickly went into mom mode to direct Princess Charlotte to her chair, and Freeman claimed the brunette told her daughter: “Come over here.”
OK! previously reported before the last match Wimbledon Club Chair Debbie Jevans didn't know if Kate would make it to the event due to her health issues.
“We’re hopeful that the Princess of Wales will be able to present the trophies as the Club’s patron, but her health and recovery is the priority,” Jevans said.
Princess Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, was unsure if Kate would feel well enough to attend, as Prince William is “fiercely protective” of his wife.
“William controls this household and William will decide whether she’s well enough to do this because he’s the one that protects the family — fiercely," he told an outlet prior to the gathering. “There’s no way he’s going to subject Kate to intrusion that she can’t handle. He’s so fiercely protective.”
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Historian Hugo Vickers applauded Kate and William for their patriotism.
"When these things come up, they attend if they can. Kate and William's love for the country is quite evident," royal historian Hugo Vickers told an outlet. "How this contrasts with the public perception of Harry and Meghan's relationship with the country — well, this is all very sad."
The Sussexes are pursuing careers in Tinseltown, as the Wales continue to prioritize The Crown.
"What Harry and Meghan are doing, of course, is entirely different because they're doing things for themselves," he added.
While Kate and Charlotte enjoyed the tennis match, William and Prince George were at the UEFA European Championship final to cheer on the English soccer team.
"We see them supporting interests very close to their hearts. In his case, the football in her case, the tennis," Vickers noted. "The most supportive, the most successful members of the royal family are those who support the monarch."
"And that is what William and Catherine do. They're supporting the King who cannot do everything," he added. "They take on special areas of interest. And that's what we'll be seeing them doing tomorrow. That's the that's the big difference."
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In the past, Kate admitted her treatment can make her feel "weak."
"I think it's extremely good news because not only will Wimbledon have the most exciting match tomorrow in the men's finals, with Djokovic playing Alcaraz," the commentator previously said before Kate's appearance. "But also the presence of Catherine, Princess of Wales will just be the icing on the cake because everybody had been hoping so much that she would be well enough to attend."
“And we are told that she is still having treatment and so she has to take things day by day," he continued.
Freeman spoke to The Sun.