Kate Middleton's Wimbledon Wish: Princess of Wales Would 'Dearly Love' to Attend Favorite Sporting Event to Present During Men's Final
The Royal Box at Wimbledon, which is so closely associated with Catherine, Princess of Wales, could remain vacant this year due to HRH's ongoing chemotherapy treatments.
"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.
Debbie Jevans, the chair of AELTC, previously mentioned that they are maintaining flexibility regarding who will present the trophies to this year's Wimbledon champions, which could signal a possible Kate cameo.
In a role typically performed by the future queen, Jevans offered an update on Kate 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."
The chairwoman added: "I don't know who would present the trophies as an alternative — that's something to consider nearer the time if necessary. We're staying flexible. When we hear, we’ll then think about what's the right thing to do."
The Daily Beast reported on the insider revelation.