Princess Kate’s possible replacement to present the winner’s trophies at Wimbledon has been revealed, and it’s someone many royal fans might not recognise.
As patron of the All England Club the Princess of Wales has presented trophies to the tennis champions since 2016, but her ongoing cancer treatment has raised questions over whether she will feel well enough to do so this weekend.
Kate has only made one public appearance so far this year, at Trooping the Colour last month, but if she is unavailable the Duchess of Gloucester is being lined up to present the awards, according to The Telegraph.
All England Club Chair Debbie Jevans told the publication that officials at Wimbledon would remain “flexible” on arrangements, with a final decision on presenting duties not expected to be made until the morning of the women’s final on Saturday.
Kensington Palace has not confirmed any engagements for the Princess in the foreseeable future as she continues to receive preventative chemotherapy.
A fortnight ago Ms Jevans said she was “hopeful” that the Princess would be at Wimbledon, however it has been reported that during informal discussions the Duchess had emerged as a replacement candidate.
The Duchess of Gloucester was born in Denmark and was known as Birgitte van Deurs Henriksen before she married Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester in 1972.
She is equally as big a tenns fan as Kate and has been an Honorary President of the Lawn Tennis Association for 25 years, having already been spotted at the tournament as a guest of the All England Club last week.
Prince William will be unavailable to present the trophies as he is likely to be in Germany for the final of Euro 2024, with England set to play the Netherlands in the semi-final on Wednesday.
As President of the FA William has been cheering his beloved England on for many matches as the royal summer of sport reaches its climax this weekend.
It is hugely important for Wimbledon to have royal support, with the potential optics of the Princess handing a trophy over to a Russian player said to be part of the reason tennis players from Russia were banned following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Ms Jevans previously said: “We’re hopeful that the Princess of Wales will be able to present the trophies as the Club’s patron, but her health and recovery is the priority.
“We don’t know what we don’t know. All we’ve said is that we’ll work with her and give her as much flexibility as possible.
“I don’t know who would present the trophies as an alternative – that’s something to consider nearer the time if necessary. We’re staying flexible. When we hear we’ll then think about what’s the right thing to do.”
Even if Kate cannot attend her parents Carole and Michael Middleton were spotted enjoying the matches on Centre Court last week.