The All England Club has answered whether Kate Middleton will attend this year’s Wimbledon Championships and hand out the trophy to the singles champions.
The Princess of Wales is the patron of the All England Club and typically presents the winners with the trophy in an on-court presentation each year.
In an emotional public address in March, Kate, 42, shared that she was undergoing cancer treatment. She has taken time away from public duties since January, when she had a planned abdominal surgery in London.
In her public address on March 22, the Princess of Wales said that, in post-operative tests, her medical team discovered that cancer “had been present”.
They advised that she undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and, at the time of her address, she was in the early stages of that treatment. With Wimbledon taking place from July 1 to 14, there have been questions over whether she will be able to attend the tournament and present the trophy as usual.
The Chair of the All England Club has now responded to those questions, explaining why they would not speculate about her attendance. “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,” Deborah Jevans said at a media briefing on Thursday.
Addressing who would present the trophies to the champions on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 July, the AELTC Chair clarified that an announcement would be made ahead of the finals as usual.
She added: “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.”
The Princess of Wales has been part of some memorable moments during trophy presentations in recent years, most notably consoling an emotional Ons Jabeur after she lost the women’s singles finals in both 2022 and 2023.
Shedding light on what the Princess told her after she lost to Marketa Vondrousova last year, Jabeur explained that Kate had a similar message for her from 2022, when she was defeated by Elena Rybakina.
“Same thing after last year: to encourage me to be strong, to come back and win a Grand Slam, win a Wimbledon,” she said after the 2023 final. Obviously she was very nice. She didn’t know if she wants to give me a hug or not. I told her hugs are always welcome from me. That was a very nice moment and she’s always nice to me.”
When news of Kate’s cancer diagnosis broke, Jabeur tweeted: “Your Royal Highness, thinking of you and sending you hugs of comfort. Wishing you a speedy recovery.”
