At this point in the year, fans seem to be embracing the idea that Kate Middleton‘s return to royal duties will happen later this year or early next year. Her battle with cancer is her No. 1 priority, along with spending time with her three children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5. That means that annual royal events that people look forward to, including Trooping the Colour, will be without the Princess of Wales this summer.
That’s why the All-England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club is preparing for Wimbledon without Kate. She’s been the patron of the club since 2016 when Queen Elizabeth II bestowed the honor upon her. Fans have seen her adorn her chic ensembles with a special bow pin in the club’s colors, dark green and purple. The Princess of Wales also gets the honor of bestowing the prizes to the tennis champions, it’s a special moment for the athletes at the end of a hard-won match.
While Kate has not officially bowed out of the July events, Deborah Jevans, the vice chair of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, revealed that they are making plans to move forward without the Princess of Wales. “Our priority is clearly that our Patron has the time to recover and we’re certainly not going to add any additional pressure on her recovery by speculating on her attendance at this year’s Championships,” she told the media at a Thursday, June 13 press conference, via Express. The club is keeping her possible replacement’s name close to the vest, so the media will have to wait a month to find out.
“And when it comes to the presentation ceremony, as in previous years, we will announce those that are going to be a part of that ceremony on the morning of the finals, so nothing has changed in that regard,” Jevans noted of the July 13 and 14 award ceremony. It will be disappointing not to see Kate in the royal box during the sport’s biggest week of the year, but it’s completely understandable why she won’t be in attendance. She has spoken fondly of her love of the game and shared her memories of the tournament in a 2017 BBC documentary.
“I have watched Wimbledon, that was very much part of my growing up. I was really taken by Agassi and Sampras, Ivanisevic and Steffi Graf. Those are my first memories. Roger [Federer] is my mother’s heartthrob,” she said in the TV special, via the Mirror. “I don’t think she will mind me saying that! I think he probably knows that too. Being able to go into Wimbledon and be part of an amazing atmosphere is special.”
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