The Chairman of the All England Club is ‘hopeful’ that the Princess of Wales will return for the Wimbledon trophy ceremony next month, despite her continued cancer treatment.
Kate Middleton is synonymous with the Wimbledon tennis championships.
Not only is the Princess of Wales patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club and a staple at the trophy ceremony, she has even served up some shots against tennis legend Roger Federer on the grass courts of SW19.
This year, however, Kate’s continued recovery from preventative chemotherapy means the Princess’ return to Centre Court’s royal box remains unconfirmed.
It’s clear that the illustrious tournament, which begins on Monday, is keen for Kate Middleton to present the champions with their trophies once again. Debbie Jevans, chairman of the All England Club, has said that Wimbledon is happy to give the Princess of Wales ‘as much flexibility as possible’ in the run up to the grand final, including a willingness to delay finding a replacement for the ceremony as Kate continues to work on an adjusted calendar.
In a touching statement released prior to Princess Catherine’s triumphant return to public-facing duties at Trooping the Colour earlier this month, she explained that she is ‘not out of the woods yet’ when it comes to her cancer treatment, but expressed her ‘hope to join a few public engagements over the summer.’
While the Palace has not confirmed which events the Princess will be attending through this busiest of royal seasons – she herself reminded supporters that she has ‘good days and not so good days’ – Wimbledon is known to be one of Kate’s most treasured traditions. In her eight years as patron of the All England Club, she has not only awarded trophies to champions like Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina, but sported tennis whites herself as she supported the work of ball boys and ballgirls on the grounds.
And the pride that the Princess of Wales feels for Wimbledon is certainly mutual. Speaking to Telegraph Sport, Jevans said:
‘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 Chairman went on to admit that the Club has not considered who might replace the Princess of Wales at the ceremony.
There is great tradition when it comes to royals awarding the trophies at Wimbledon. King George VI handed out the silverware in 1947, having himself played at the championships as the Duke of York, and Queen Elizabeth II gave the Venus Rosewater Dish to British player Virginia Wade, whose Centre Court triumph coincided with the year of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.
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It’s not only Kate Middleton whose Wimbledon return is up in the air. Two-time champion Sir Andy Murray is yet to confirm whether he will compete in the singles tournament, which would mark his final performance at SW19 before his projected retirement this year. Many assumed that the former world number one would end his career on home turf, bowing out at the All England Club next month, but an injury sustained at Queen’s left him needing surgery on a spinal cyst and his plans for Wimbledon in disarray. Sir Andy has said that its most likely he plays doubles alongside his brother Jamie, but is adamant that he will do whatever it takes to compete in the singles and is waiting ‘until the very last moment’ to make any final decisions.
Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek will both begin their campaigns for a first Wimbledon trophy as play commences on Monday. Carlos Alcaraz will hope to defend last year’s victory, while an injured Novak Djokovic will look to claim his eighth title on Centre Court. Whoever emerges victorious, many will hope that Kate Middleton is the one handing out congratulations and commiserations on Finals Sunday – not least the Championships themselves.
