12-07-2025
Princess Kate appears in the Royal Box to cheering crowds for Wimbledon women's final
Kate Middleton has received a warm and enthusiastic welcome at Wimbledon as the crowd erupted with a massive cheer and a standing ovation as she took her seat in the Royal Box for the women's singles final on Saturday.
The beaming Princess of Wales, who is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, looked classy in a white belted blazer-style and cream pleated skirt, The Sun reports.
Kate also donned a Wimbledon purple and green bow on the left-hand side of her top.
She briefly greeted American ace Martina Navratilova, 68, as she walked along the first row of the VIP seating section.
Tennis legend and six-time Wimbledon winner Billie Jean King, 81, then curtsied to the royal before the pair shook hands.
As she accepted the cheers from the packed 15,000 crowd, Kate smiled and waved twice – prompting another huge cheer.
She sat down as both Swiatek and Anisimova prepared to make their entrance to the court.
Earlier, the Princess first spoke with women's wheelchair tennis champion Wang Ziying – only moments after she won her final in straight sets.
Kate then had a lengthy chat with eight-year-old inspiration Lydia Lowe, who is representing the Dan Maskell Trust and was given the honour of doing the coin toss for the wheelchair final on Court No.1.
She also talked with Sophie Kneen, 12, who will do the coin toss for this afternoon's women's final, ball boys and girls, and honorary stewards. The Princess, 43, then crossed the bridge, where she flashed a smile and a wave to hundreds of fans who had gathered to catch a glimpse.
Kate was guided around the grounds by All England Club chairwoman Debbie Jevans, who is a former professional player.
She shook hands with each member of the greeting party and had a brief chat about their time at the tournament so far.
In an adorable moment, beaming Princess appeared to ask young Lydia, who overcame a brain injury and had to learn how to walk again, if she had any advice for the big day.
The brave girl seemed to reply: 'Don't be nervous.'
She also met young people from the Work at Wimbledon program and Wimbledon Foundation representatives.
Sophie, 12, is part of the foundation's women and girls inclusion project, and said of being chosen to do the coin toss: 'I'm really excited, it's always been a dream of mine to go out on Centre Court.'
Traditionally, avid tennis fan Kate watches a number of matches in the Royal Box and later present champions with their trophies at the end of the tournament.
Hundreds of spectators gathered in and around the grounds to try and catch a glimpse of the Princess as she entered Wimbledon.
She will take part in a special ceremony before moving to the best seat in the house to watch the ladies' final, which is tipped to be an all-time classic.
The Princess of Wales and 15,000 fans on Centre Court will have to battle scorching temperatures of up to 31 degrees as the third heatwave of the summer baked Britain.
Several fans have passed out in the stands during the tournament, though bosses have rejected calls to close the Centre Court roof and turn on the airconditioning during severe temperatures.
The Women's Singles final this afternoon will see a showdown between American Amanda Anisimova, 23, and Pole Iga Swiatek, 24 — neither of whom have won in West London before.
Swiatek, one of the most successful players in recent years, has won five majors in the past and was previously the world number one.
However, this is her first Wimbledon final, having only ever made it as far as the quarter-finals in 2023.
Seeded eighth for this year's tournament, she arrived having made only one final since her French Open victory last year.
She will face off against Anisimova. Once touted as a teenage prodigy, she was a junior US Open champion in 2017 at age 16.
Her first peak was marked by a semi-final run at the 2019 French Open, but her rapid rise was soon halted and she took a four-month health break before returning to the sport last year.
She arrived at the All England Tennis Club seeded 13th.
Anisimova waved and blew kisses to the crowd earlier in the championships after securing a remarkable 6-4 4-6 6-4 victory against world number one Aryna Sabalenka on Centre Court.
The Men's doubles final on Centre Court earlier today saw Aussie Rinky Hijikata, 24, and Dutch David Pel, 34, face off against Brits Julian Cash, 28, and Lloyd Glasspool, who is 31.
The Brits won to resounding cheers from the home crowd – and took a selfie to mark the occasion as the first all-British pair to win the men's doubles since 1936.
Alongside the princess in the Royal Box will be Barbie mastermind Greta Gerwig, Mo Farrah, Stanley Tucci and Billie Jean King.
Also present will be Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Labour's Lisa Nandy.
Adam Peaty and Holly Ramsay are also expected to be there.
Eyes will also be on the thermometers this weekend, as temperatures of up to 33 degrees could bake fans.
This afternoon's final starts at the later time of 4pm – the first time in 119 years that the match has been pushed back.
The climax to the men's and women's Championships has traditionally begun at 2pm on the finals weekend.
This year, the matches have been pushed back by two hours to maximise the TV audience in the United States, where the clash will start at 11am in New York.
All England Club officials insisted the later start will result in better crowds for the doubles finals, which now start before the singles main event.
Kate's mother-in-law Queen Camilla was also back at Wimbledon on Wednesday to watch her favourite player Novak Djokovic in action.
Princess Kate has rarely missed attending Wimbledon since marrying Prince William.
She did skip the championships in 2013 – and missed Andy Murray's first Wimbledon victory – but this was due to her being heavily pregnant with Prince George at the time.
