A warm welcome, predictable but no less appreciated by the interested party, greeted the entrance of Princess K.ate Middleton in the Royal Box at Wimbledon Centre Court: the first official moment, under the indiscreet gaze of millions of viewers around the world, of Kate’s Sunday, who chose the men’s final of the famous grass-court tournament for her second public appearance. The princess’s presence, which had just been announced by Kensington Palace, had aroused the interest of the media, local and otherwise, curious to see the wife of the heir to the throne William again, immersed in the crowd. Last March, she was diagnosed with a tumor, which is forcing her to undergo cycles of preventive chemotherapy.
Arriving at the All England Club half an hour before the start of the match between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, the epilogue of the 137th edition of the Championships, the princess appeared serene and in good spirits. Definitely less drawn and haggard than in her previous public appearance, the first ever after several months of private life, on the occasion of Trooping the Colour, the celebrations in honor of King Charles’ birthday. A brief appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, which had raised more doubts than reassurances about her state of health. Today Princess Kate, after greeting the club’s directors, and some British tennis players, including Emma Raducanu, she headed to Centre Court, where she thanked the 15,000 people in the stands for the standing ovation and the long applause reserved for her. Dressed in a longuette dress, cyclamen purple, with a bow in the Wimbledon colours pinned to the chest by the brand Safiyaa, the princess sat next to her daughter Charlotte.
At the same time that her husband was in Germany, to watch the Euro 2024 final, between England and Spain, Kate spent the afternoon in the oldest and most exclusive tennis club in the world, of which she has been godmother since 2016, a role assigned to her directly by Queen Elizabeth. Since then – also thanks to her declared passion for tennis, which she practices at a good level – she has never missed the two weeks of the famous London tournament, often noticed in the stands to watch the matches of her favorite tennis players, first of all Roger Federer.
The last visit to the SW19 meadows, exactly 12 months ago, once again on the occasion of the men’s final, when he had rewarded Alcaraz. A scene that was repeated today, at the end of the young Spaniard’s amazing performance. And that sealed the closing ceremony of Wimbledon, carried out by the princess, as usual, in an impeccable manner: the elegant entrance onto the court, the greeting to the ball boys, the handshake with the chair umpire, the words of consolation reserved for the loser (Djokovic). Then the delivery to Alcaraz of the Challenge Cup, the cup reserved for the winner of the men’s tournament. The princess then spent time with the Spaniard in the lounge of the London Centre Court and exchanged a few words with Alcaraz, with her daughter Charlotte at her side. The last commitment of a Sunday that brought her back to the center of attention of the Kingdom. Before returning to her current daily life, more reserved, between treatments, hope, an illness that keeps an entire nation anxious.