Princess of Wales Kate Middleton will attend the Wimbledon men’s final tomorrow to present the winner’s trophy, it has been announced, as she and William sent a cheeky message to Princess Anne following her ‘horse-related’ accident injury, Daily Mail reports.
The Princess of Wales Kate Middleton will hand over the prize to either Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz, Kensington Palace said.
But she will not attend today and Wimbledon chairwoman Debbie Jevans will instead present the women’s champion trophy on behalf of Kate to either Jasmine Paolini or Barbora Krejcikova following the women’s singles final.
Contingency plans had been put in place for the Duchess of Gloucester, an Honorary President of the Lawn Tennis Association for 25 years, to step in if the Princess of Wales was unavailable due to her ongoing preventative cancer treatment.
Princess of Wales Kate Middleton, 42, was last seen in public watching Trooping The Colour last month.
The Princess of Wales has been patron of the All England Club for eight years, after taking over from Queen Elizabeth, who had served in the role since 1952 – and has presented the trophies each year since 2016.
Ms Jevans previously told how the club was giving Kate ‘as much flexibility as possible’, saying: ‘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 princess said last month that she hoped to attend the occasional engagement over the summer but urged the public to bear with her as, like many cancer patients, she has ‘good and bad days’.
Her husband Prince William, president of the Football Association, is heading to Germany to attend England’s Euro 2024 final against Spain in Berlin’s Olympiastadion tomorrow evening.
In a social media post today, he said: ‘We are so proud of you all England, just one last push to finish the job!
‘Go out there and show the world what you’re made of. We believe. W.’
He was in the crowd in Dusseldorf last Saturday to see Gareth
Southgate’s side win their quarter-final against Switzerland in a penalty shoot-out, before captain Harry Kane and substitute Ollie Watkins scored to beat the Netherlands 2-1 on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, William and Kate’s official @KensingtonRoyal account on X, formerly Twitter, today posted a message welcoming Princess Anne back to royal duties – calling her a ‘Super Trooper’.
They shared photos of the Princess Royal attending a Riding for the Disabled Association event, adding: ‘Super trooper! So great to see you back so soon! W & C x
Anne is said to be making a ‘gradual return’ to royal duties, having been taken to hospital on June 23 with minor head wounds and concussion after walking around her Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire.
Her doctors believe her injuries to be consistent with being struck by a horse.
Kate’s appearance at Trooping The Colour saw her watching the spectacle with her three children from the Duke of Wellington’s former office before a reunion with her father-in-law King Charles on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
She said in a statement the day before that she was making ‘good progress’ with her treatment, but candidly added that she has ‘good days and bad days’.
She has been working from home, but added: ‘I am not out of the woods yet.’
Kate first revealed in a video issued on March 22 that she was diagnosed with cancer the previous month, having spent a fortnight in the private London Clinic for abdominal surgery in January.
She and husband Prince William later told of being ‘extremely moved’ by the outpouring of goodwill from across the world since her shock announcement.
Kate was put on what has been described as a ‘recovery pathway’ after starting a course of chemotherapy in late February.
She spent a fortnight at the London Clinic after being admitted on January 16 for abdominal surgery.
King Charles and Queen Camilla visited her ward on January 26 before Charles, 75, himself had an operation for a benign prostate cancer condition – and was later diagnosed with cancer, for which he has since been receiving treatment.
Kate has been rarely seen in public since attending church at Sandringham in Norfolk on Christmas Day last year – though a member of the public filmed her and William after visiting a farm shop in March.
The couple were also photographed being driven from Windsor on March 11 before the prince attended a Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in central London and Kate went on to a private appointment.
Kate was joined at last year’s Wimbledon’s men’s single final by her eldest son George and his sister Charlotte.
William, 42, has frequently taken Prince George, to football matches, both in an official role and privately to the Premier League club he supports, Aston Villa.