Kate Middleton made her second public appearance on Sunday, after causing a stir with her scheduled stomach surgery and six-month hiatus.
The Princess of Wales attended the Wimbledon final, which featured Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
“It was quite a surprise to see her at the Wimbledon final, and we know that the Princess is a huge fan of tennis,” Royal analyst Katie Nicholl told the reporters. “She has served as a patron of the Lawn Tennis Association since 2016. “She’s been to every Wimbledon, so I think we all hoped to see her there,” she said.
When she arrived at the event, Kate received a standing ovation as she made her way to the Royal Box at Centre Court to watch the match.
Kate attended the match together with her daughter, Princess Charlotte, and her sister, Pippa Middleton.
“When she turned up, the crowd showed their appreciation with the standing ovation, which went on for quite a while actually, and the Princess [was] very, very touched by that,” Nicholl shared. “I think she looked quite overwhelmed by the moment, absolutely delighted to be there.”
“She is a great tennis player. She’s a huge fan of the game, and clearly Princess Charlotte has the tennis bug, too, something that runs in the Middleton family. So I think, for Kate to have not gone, and would have been a great shame for royal fans, for tennis fans and for the Princess herself,” she says. “This was an important event for her.”
Kate’s dress drew notice from the public. She chose a stunning purple outfit by Safiyaa and a bow-tie pin to signify her job.
The official colors of the club were purple and dark green, which were displayed on the pin.
According to Nicholl, Kate selected this style “because the colors of Wimbledon are green and purple, so that that color of dress was a very deliberate choice, and I think she looked incredibly well and very happy to be there.”
Kate made her first public appearance since revealing her cαncєr diagnosis to the public at King Charles’ official birthday, the Trooping of Colour.
“She explained that she has good days, and she has bad days, and we know from the palace that when they announce that she’s going to attend an engagement, it’s always with the caveat that if she’s not feeling well on the day she may have to pull out of something at the 11th hour,” Nicholl said of the queen’s wife. “Fortunately that wasn’t the case, and she was able to attend the finals for Wimbledon.”
Nicholl suggests that while the Princess’ appearance at Wimbledon was significant, it is ‘unlikely’ that she will make any further appearances.
“I was told there were two key engagements that she wanted to make: Trooping the Colour, and Wimbledon, both of which she was able to attend,” the royal expert said. “I was speaking to a source at the palace earlier, who have confirmed that [the children] are on summer recess and they will now just stay away from the public gaze.
They will hunker down as a family, more likely than not at Norfolk and Mahal, their countryside bolt hole, and the Princess is not able to travel at the moment while she’s undergoing this course of preventative chemotherapy. So I think that probably rules out an overseas holiday.”
