Princess Kate Middleton attended this year’s Wimbledon amid her measured return to senior royal duties.
Kate, 43, was spotted at the famed tennis championship on Saturday, July 12, stepping out in crisp white blazer with a coordinating skirt. She wore her hair in loose waves as she met with several winners.
Kate has become a regular attendee of Wimbledon over the years, handing out trophies in her role as a patron of the All England Club.
In June, Rebecca English, royal editor of the Daily Mail, reported that it was “very likely” Kate would attend Wimbledon this year, despite her recent absence from the 2025 Royal Ascot.
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Kate made headlines on June 18 when she decided last-minute to pull out of a public appearance at the horse racing festival, where royal family members participate in a procession before the events begin each day. Instead, Prince William attended solo, riding alongside King Charles III, Queen Camilla and Prince Saud bin Khalid Al-Saud in a carriage.
Later in the month, Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, explained Kate’s surprising absence in an interview with Hello!
“Kate might be back, but she’s doing it sensibly, and on her own terms,” Seward told the outlet of the royal’s approach to her public duties following her 2024 battle with an unspecified type of cancer. “Her priorities have changed, and she’s listening to her body, instead of being a people pleaser. She’s absolutely got to be strict with herself and say, ‘No, I can’t do this.’”
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Seward added, “Maybe we’ve been lulled into a sense that we’ll be seeing her all the time again because she looks so amazing. But it must be an effort to look like that when you’re not 100 percent full of energy.”
According to Seward, Royal Ascot is “more exhausting than it looks,” with its early start time, long process for getting ready, outdoor carriage ride in the heat and the intense scrutiny of the public’s attention. “She probably simply didn’t feel up to it. I’m sure she was disappointed and really wanted to be there at William’s side.”
“[Kate] loves racing and so does her mum,” Seward concluded. “But this was a social event — for fun and pleasure — rather than an official or charity engagement, so I think it was a wise decision, even though it was probably a difficult one too.”
Earlier this week, Kate attended a state dinner on behalf of French president Emmanuel Macron but missed William’s charity polo match on Friday, July 11.
Kate took a step back from her royal duties in 2024 after she was diagnosed with cancer, though she and Princess Charlotte, now 10, still made an appearance at Wimbledon that July. Two months later, Kate confirmed she had completed chemotherapy treatments, and in January she announced her cancer was in remission.
