Princess Kate's seven-word response after emotional Wimbledon return
With this year's Wimbledon competition in full swing, many spectators have been revelling in the many royal and celebrity sightings off the court, while also cheering on the brilliant action by the world 's best tennis players. With Sarah, Duchess of York and Princess Beatrice already making an appearance in the royal box, many are wondering who else from the Firm will be sat courtside for the rest of the tournament.
Last year, Princess Kate made her triumphant return to Wimbledon, with many hoping she will once again be present at one of the matches this year. When Kate arrived at the summer event in 2024, she was met with rousing applause and a standing ovation, with her last-minute appearance delighting thousands of spectators.
Kate was joined by Princess Charlotte for the men's final match, with Kate presenting the trophy to the winner. The memorable appearance was only the second time the Princess of Wales had been seen in public since the shocking news of her cancer diagnosis just months before.
Kate, who has long been an avid tennis fan and regular attendee at Wimbledon tournaments in years past, was met with a round of applause as she arrived smiling at Centre Court. She politely summoned then nine-year-old Charlotte into her seat, alongside Pippa Middleton.
According to lip-reading expert, Nicola Hickling, the Princess told the pair where to sit and shared a positive message. Reading the Princess' lips, Nicola noted that Kate said: "Charlotte, I want you to sit here and Pippa, you're next to Charlotte. Just here."
Then she turned to former tennis professional, Debbie Jevans, who was seated on her left and dressed in a cream suit, and joyfully said: "It's so good, and we're seated together."
Kate has been a patron of the AELTC, which conducts the day-to-day operations of The Championships, since 2016 and its official colours are purple and green, as she wore a stunning purple dress to match the occasion.
It's not the first time Kate has sat in the Royal Box at Wimbledon, as an avid tennis fan and regular championships attendee. The Royal Box dates back to 1922 and has been used to entertain friends and guests ever since.
Accordingly, you must be personally invited by the Chairman of the All England Club before you can enjoy one of the iconic green Lloyd Loom wicker chairs.
Many have speculated whether Princess Kate will be attending this year's Wimbledon tournament, given her recent last-minute decision to pull out of her appearance at Royal Ascot, sharing a statement that she was still 'finding the right balance' between recovering from cancer and her royal duties.
The princess completed three engagements in the week leading up to Royal Ascot, attending the new V&A East Storeroom exhibition space in London, the King's official birthday celebrations at Trooping the Colour and Garter Day in Windsor.
After pulling out of her Ascot appearance, Princess Kate spoke candidly about her recovery at the Colchester Hospital's cancer centre, saying: 'There is this whole phase when you finish your treatment that you, yourself, everybody expects you, right you've finished your time, go, you're better, and that's not the case at all."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
33 minutes ago
- The Independent
Wimbledon briefing: Monday recap, day nine order of play and ‘nightmare' Norrie
Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner remain on course for a mouthwatering semi-final clash at Wimbledon – but only after serious scares. The quarter-finals begin on Tuesday, with women's world number one Aryna Sabalenka opening play on Centre Court before Britain's last remaining singles hope Cameron Norrie tackles defending men's champion Carlos Alcaraz. Here, the PA news agency looks back at Monday's action and previews day nine of the Championships. Djokovic wakes up to down De Minaur Novak Djokovic recovered from his worst first set at Wimbledon to battle past Alex De Minaur in four sets and reach a 16th quarter-final in SW19. The seven-time champion made 16 unforced errors, including four double faults, and dropped serve three times as he lost the first set 6-1. Bu the Serbian remains on a semi-final collision course with Jannik Sinner, who appeared to be heading for an early exit before Grigor Dimitrov suffered a heartbreaking injury. The 34-year-old Bulgarian was two sets up and playing some inspired tennis when, at 2-2 in the third set, he clutched his chest after serving an ace and was forced to retire injured. World number one Sinner, who helped Dimitrov pack his rackets away and carried his bag off court, said: 'I don't take this as a win at all. This is just a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us.' In the zone Mirra Andreeva was so focused on continually winning the next point that she did not realise she had won. The 18-year-old Russian swatted aside Emma Navarro in straight sets to reach her first Wimbledon quarter-final. But, in front of her hero Roger Federer, she was oblivious to the fact the umpire was announcing her as the winner. 'I kept telling myself I'm not the one who is up on the score, I am the one who is down,' she explained. 'That helped me to stay focused and in the end I completely forgot the score. 'I'm happy that I did it because I think I would have been three times more nervous on a match point.' AI here to stay Wimbledon bosses are 'deeply disappointed' by Sunday's electronic line calling failure but insist it will not happen again. All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said: 'We did a full review of all of our systems and processes to check all of those kinds of things and to make sure that, both historically and moving forward, we have made the appropriate changes that we needed to make. So we're absolutely confident in the system.' Organisers later clarified the changes that have been made, with a spokesman saying: 'Following our review, we have removed the ability for Hawk-Eye operators to manually deactivate the ball tracking. This error cannot now be repeated.' Match of the day Cameron Norrie faces the ultimate Wimbledon challenge as he aims to dethrone defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. The British number three is through to the quarter-finals for the first time since he reached the last four in 2022, which was the last time Spanish superstar Alcaraz lost a match in SW19. Since then Norrie has dropped from eight in the world to a low of 91 while Alcaraz, 22, has won two Wimbledons, two French Opens and a US Open. But Alcaraz is taking nothing for granted, insisting facing Norrie on home soil is 'almost a nightmare'. Order of play Court One (from 1pm) Taylor Fritz (5) v Karen Khachanov (17)Amanda Anisimova (13) v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Weather watch Sunny with highs of 25C, according to the Met Office.
North Wales Chronicle
40 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Legal challenge over Wimbledon expansion set to be heard at High Court
Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) is challenging the decision by the Greater London Authority (GLA) to give the green light to the All England Club's proposal to build 39 new courts, including an 8,000-seat stadium, on the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club. Planning permission for the scheme was granted last year by Jules Pipe, London's deputy mayor for planning, who said that the proposals 'would facilitate very significant benefits' which 'clearly outweigh the harm'. Debbie Jevans, chair of the All England Club, said at the time that the proposals would deliver 27 acres of 'newly accessible parkland for the community', and would allow the qualifying tournament for Wimbledon – currently staged at Roehampton – to be held on-site. But campaigners say that Wimbledon Park, a Grade II*-listed heritage site, is subject to similar protections as the green belt or royal parks and that allowing development on the site would set a 'dangerous precedent'. SWP's lawyers are set to argue that the GLA's decision failed to take into account the implications of 'restrictive covenants' on the use of the land, and that the development would cause 'deliberate damage'. The GLA is defending the legal challenge at a two-day hearing before Mr Justice Saini, which is due to begin at 10.30am at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. The plans were first submitted to both Merton and Wandsworth Councils, with the park straddling the boroughs, in 2021, three years after the All England Club bought out golf club members with the intention of developing the land. After Merton Council approved the plans, but Wandsworth Council rejected them, the Mayor of London's office took charge of the application. Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan then recused himself from the process in 2023, having previously expressed public support for the development. The plans attracted opposition from Fleur Anderson, the Labour MP for Putney, and Richard Rees, who was previously the lead planner for the building of Wimbledon's Court One and the development of 'Henman Hill'. Ahead of Tuesday's hearing, Christopher Coombe, a director of SWP, said: 'If this decision by the GLA is upheld and the development goes ahead, the detrimental impacts on our environment and delicate ecosystem will be devastating. 'Our community has given massive support to the campaign over four years, desperate to stop the loss of open space intended for public recreation. 'This is not just in SW19; it's happening all over London. Once built, it is gone forever, and there is very little local trust in an organisation that prides itself on fair play, but then breaks its word. 'We all love the Wimbledon championships, but don't believe the proposal is really about protecting the future of the world's best tennis tournament. 'We will continue to press (the All England Club) to reconsider their fighting stance towards our community and to join us in finding a resolution that we can all get behind.' A spokesperson for the All England Club said: 'Our proposals will deliver one of the greatest sporting transformations for London since 2012. 'They are crucial to ensuring Wimbledon remains at the pinnacle of tennis, one of the world's best sporting events, and a global attraction for both London and the UK. 'On offer are substantial year-round benefits for our community and the delivery of significant social, economic, and environmental improvements. 'This includes more than 27 acres of new public parkland on what is currently inaccessible, private land. 'Our plans will increase the size of Wimbledon Park by a third and create spaces for people and nature to thrive. 'There will be a very significant increase in biodiversity across the site and our proposals are underpinned by more than 1,000 hours of ecological surveys, which are endorsed by the London Wildlife Trust. 'We have spoken to more than 10,000 people as part of our consultation events, and we know that the vast majority of people just want us to get on and deliver the many benefits on offer.' A GLA spokesperson said: 'The Mayor believes this scheme will bring a significant range of benefits, including environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits to the local area, the wider capital and the UK economy. 'It will create new jobs and green spaces and cement Wimbledon's reputation as the greatest tennis competition in the world. 'An application has been made for the court to determine this matter, and it is therefore inappropriate for the mayor to comment further at this stage.'
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Leader Live
Legal challenge over Wimbledon expansion set to be heard at High Court
Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) is challenging the decision by the Greater London Authority (GLA) to give the green light to the All England Club's proposal to build 39 new courts, including an 8,000-seat stadium, on the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club. Planning permission for the scheme was granted last year by Jules Pipe, London's deputy mayor for planning, who said that the proposals 'would facilitate very significant benefits' which 'clearly outweigh the harm'. Debbie Jevans, chair of the All England Club, said at the time that the proposals would deliver 27 acres of 'newly accessible parkland for the community', and would allow the qualifying tournament for Wimbledon – currently staged at Roehampton – to be held on-site. But campaigners say that Wimbledon Park, a Grade II*-listed heritage site, is subject to similar protections as the green belt or royal parks and that allowing development on the site would set a 'dangerous precedent'. SWP's lawyers are set to argue that the GLA's decision failed to take into account the implications of 'restrictive covenants' on the use of the land, and that the development would cause 'deliberate damage'. The GLA is defending the legal challenge at a two-day hearing before Mr Justice Saini, which is due to begin at 10.30am at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. The plans were first submitted to both Merton and Wandsworth Councils, with the park straddling the boroughs, in 2021, three years after the All England Club bought out golf club members with the intention of developing the land. After Merton Council approved the plans, but Wandsworth Council rejected them, the Mayor of London's office took charge of the application. Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan then recused himself from the process in 2023, having previously expressed public support for the development. The plans attracted opposition from Fleur Anderson, the Labour MP for Putney, and Richard Rees, who was previously the lead planner for the building of Wimbledon's Court One and the development of 'Henman Hill'. Ahead of Tuesday's hearing, Christopher Coombe, a director of SWP, said: 'If this decision by the GLA is upheld and the development goes ahead, the detrimental impacts on our environment and delicate ecosystem will be devastating. 'Our community has given massive support to the campaign over four years, desperate to stop the loss of open space intended for public recreation. 'This is not just in SW19; it's happening all over London. Once built, it is gone forever, and there is very little local trust in an organisation that prides itself on fair play, but then breaks its word. 'We all love the Wimbledon championships, but don't believe the proposal is really about protecting the future of the world's best tennis tournament. 'We will continue to press (the All England Club) to reconsider their fighting stance towards our community and to join us in finding a resolution that we can all get behind.' A spokesperson for the All England Club said: 'Our proposals will deliver one of the greatest sporting transformations for London since 2012. 'They are crucial to ensuring Wimbledon remains at the pinnacle of tennis, one of the world's best sporting events, and a global attraction for both London and the UK. 'On offer are substantial year-round benefits for our community and the delivery of significant social, economic, and environmental improvements. 'This includes more than 27 acres of new public parkland on what is currently inaccessible, private land. 'Our plans will increase the size of Wimbledon Park by a third and create spaces for people and nature to thrive. 'There will be a very significant increase in biodiversity across the site and our proposals are underpinned by more than 1,000 hours of ecological surveys, which are endorsed by the London Wildlife Trust. 'We have spoken to more than 10,000 people as part of our consultation events, and we know that the vast majority of people just want us to get on and deliver the many benefits on offer.' A GLA spokesperson said: 'The Mayor believes this scheme will bring a significant range of benefits, including environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits to the local area, the wider capital and the UK economy. 'It will create new jobs and green spaces and cement Wimbledon's reputation as the greatest tennis competition in the world. 'An application has been made for the court to determine this matter, and it is therefore inappropriate for the mayor to comment further at this stage.'
