CELEBRITY
Wimbledon speak out on Kate Middleton attendance and who will do trophy presentation
The Princess of Wales traditionally presents the trophy to the singles champions at Wimbledon.
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.