This royal could replace Kate at Wimbledon.
Wimbledon is back in full swing, and so far Princess Kate has not been spotted at the tennis tournament. Since 2016, our beloved Kate has traditionally been the patroness and has the honor of presenting the Wimbledon trophy to the winner of the tournament. Now that she has skipped several royal events due to her health, fans fear that Kate will not be able to attend this year. Wimbledon is reportedly working on a contingency plan in case the Princess of Wales is unable to congratulate the winner.
Patroness
The extremely athletic Princess Kate can be found regularly on the tennis court herself. She even manages to get hubby Prince William hot under the soles on the tennis court. This love for tennis has also ensured that Catherine has been the patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the legendary location where the tournament is held annually, since 2016. It is a regular occurrence that Her Highness also attends a few matches, but that has not happened so far. She has only performed in public once this year at Trooping the Colour, since the revelation about her cancer treatments.
Although there has been neither confirmation nor denial from the British court, the Wimbledon organization has announced that it will welcome the princess with open arms. Chairwoman of the association, Debbie Jevans, explains in an interview with Telegraph Sport that they are doing everything they can to think along with the princess.
“We remain hopeful that the Princess of Wales will be able to present the trophies as Patron of the Club, but her health and recovery are the priority. We don’t know what we don’t know. All we have said is that we will cooperate with her and give her as much flexibility as possible.”
Emergency plan
The Telegraph now reports that the organisation is eyeing Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester, as a plan B for the big ceremony. “The All England Club has a strong connection with the Royal Family, with ten royals having presented the trophies since Prince George (later King George V) became the club’s first president in 1907. It is understood that during informal discussions the Duchess of Gloucester was floated as a potential replacement,” it claims.
The Duchess of Gloucester is a big tennis fan and would happily continue the royal tradition. We remain hopeful that Princess Kate will feel fit enough for the big awards ceremony this weekend. We will wait and see if Kate will show up, but we understand that the princess puts her health first. We keep our fingers crossed!
Source: Telegraph | Image: NL Beeld
