Kate Middleton to Dazzle at Wimbledon: Princess of Wales to Present Men's Final Trophy After Weeks of Speculation
After weeks of will she/won't she, Kate, Princess of Wales, is set to attend Wimbledon on Sunday, July 14! Her Royal Highness will not break her now 11-year streak of annual appearances at the iconic sporting tournament as she is positioned to present the trophy for the Men's Final.
The future queen will get to present the winning prize to either Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz, however, many fans expressed sorrow that she will not be on hand to do the same for the ladies at Saturday, July 13's tournament.
This follows earlier reports that stated: "It is no secret that she would dearly love to be there, but when you are having chemo, as she herself said, there are good days and bad days," a friend of the future queen and Prince William shared. "A lot depends on the timing of the treatments. She made it to Trooping the Colour, so if she can make Wimbledon, she will."
Her Royal Highness was asked by the late Queen Elizabeth II, who was rumored to dislike tennis, to become patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which organizes the Wimbledon Championships, in 2016. The future queen has attended the quintessentially iconic British tournament every year since marrying William in 2011 save for 2013, when she was expecting Prince George.
Michael and Carole Middleton decided to make their royal daughter proud by attending the Thursday, July 4, tournament. The parents of Britain's next queen opted for summer-themed daywear with Carole wearing a floral dress and cream coat next to Michael's navy blue suit.
A love of Wimbledon ran deep for the princess long before she received a royal coat of arms. HRH grew up adoring the British summer sporting tradition thanks to her parents. She also loves playing the sport herself and had a tennis court installed at her and William's country home Anmer Hall on the Sandringham Estate in 2015.
The queen-in-waiting also shares a zeal for Wimbledon and tennis with her late mother-in-law, Diana, Princess of Wales. The iconic royal attended the tournament numerous years throughout her life and even took a nine-year-old William with her to sit in the Royal Box and enjoy the match in July 1991.
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Debbie Jevans, the chair of AELTC, previously mentioned that they were maintaining flexibility regarding who will present the trophies to this year's Wimbledon champions.
In a role typically performed by the future queen, Jevans offered an update on Kate earlier this week by stating: "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. We don't know what we don’t know. All we've said is that we'll work with her and give her as much flexibility as possible."
Daily Mirror reported on Kate's courtside return.