Princess Kate dazzled at Wimbledon & deserved standing ovation – we’ll be seeing her again soon, royal expert says
PRINCESS Kate dazzled at Wimbledon as cheering fans welcomed her with a well-deserved standing ovation – and we will be seeing her again soon, says a royal expert.
Kate, 42, said she was “glad to be back” at Wimbledon today as the royal beamed alongside her daughter Princess Charlotte.
The royal grinned from ear to ear as she proudly presented trophies to Wimbledon champion Carlos Alacaraz and runner-up Novak Djokovic after the intense Grand Slam.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told The Sun: “I think it meant a tremendous amount for the Princess of Wales to firstly be there, carry out her duty as patron of the all England tennis club, and there’s no question that Wimbledon is very close to her heart, as is the game of tennis.
“It was also a very significant moment when she had a standing ovation because this shows how people have cared so deeply for her during these very difficult months, when she’s after a major abdominal operation, undertaking preventative chemotherapy, which is so daunting.”
The royal expert highlighted how Kate’s appearance at Wimbledon is only the second since releasing an emotional statement in the days leading up to Trooping the Colour last month.
Mr Fitzwilliams said there was “a clue” in her message – that she hoped to attend further events in the summer – that the royal would attend Wimbledon.
“She’s always been very fit, and she’s always loved tennis. So this was absolutely the perfect role for her,” he continued.
“But, the statement also spoke about how difficult it was, with good and bad days, with preventative chemotherapy.
“The fact that she wasn’t able to attend the women’s singles final, that also emphasizes the point that very, very carefully she’s acting on doctors advice.”
The commentator described Princess Kate as “relaxed and at ease” during the event – and hailed her appearance as vital and “very joyous” for the royal family.
“I think if you wear a dress that purple as stunning as that, and carry it off with the poise and beauty that only she can, she knew where the main attention, apart from on the tennis court, of course, was going to be,” he added.
Looking ahead, Mr Fitzwilliams also believed more appearances “might very well” be on the horizon.
“It is a very difficult time for the royal family with two senior royals including the King battling cancer, and this is undoubtedly a step forward, a step forward that makes people happy that everyone could welcome, and where a standing ovation was so well deserved,” he added.
It comes after the Princess awarded champion Carlos Alcaraz, 21, his golden cup as he retained his Wimbledon title against rival Novak Djokovic.
She also presented Djokovic, 37, his runner-up trophy after the nail-biting clash.
The mum-of-three donned a custom version of Safiyaa’s Cecilia dress in Wimbledon purple in the royal box today.
Body language analysis
By James Halpin
Body language expert Judi James gave her detailed analysis of Kate’s arrival to her seat.
Judi said “there was nothing low-key or casual” about Kate’s purple dress and very regal arrival.
She said: “Dressed in a deep shade of the royal colour purple and flanked by her wing-girl Charlotte, she arrived projecting signals of confidence and upbeat authority.
“If there were any signs of inner nervousness or anxiety they only came in the form of two self-comfort smoothing gestures of her hair as she stopped to shake hands and chat.
“When Kate is on top of her game she has three ‘tells’: her posture is upright with her arms held down at her sides; her smile involves dimpling and her nose wrinkles in a gesture of playful fun.
“Kate arrived here using at least one of those ‘tells’, walking with her arms hanging to her sides.”
Kate didn’t arrive at Wimbledon alone, with daughter Charlotte in tow.
The nine-year-old shows more signs of growing up as she beamed with “confidence” and “independence”.
Judi said she was: “only being touched on the back by Kate as a cue gesture when she was moved forward when it was her turn to shake
hands.”
“It was so easy to see the way Charlotte uses her mother as her body language role-model.
“Standing waiting with her hands clasped behind her back she suddenly saw that Kate had clasped hers in front of her torso and she immediately changed pose to mirror her mother in an act of the same kind of hero-worship we used to see as George mirrored his dad
William.”
As Kate walked down the stairs to take her seat, she received a rapturous standing ovation.
Judi said: “Kate arrived to take her seat with a modest-looking dip of the head as the crowd spotted her and the first roars of approval began.
“Her eyes rose though in a gesture of greeting and recognition for the fan support, followed by a small ritual of quiet appreciation as the standing ovation began.
“Pausing to create a very sweet and touching tie-sign as an expression of bashful, surprised, looking delight, Kate showed her second signature ‘tell’ of genuine pleasure as the dimpled smile appeared as she raised one hand in a low, non-formal but very personal wave of acknowledgment and thanks.”
Judi claimed that Kate showed her third tell to daughter Charlotte as the pair took their seats.
She said: “Gently ushering Charlotte into her seat, Kate finally performed her third ‘tell’ of fun and good-humour as her nose wrinkled as she laughed with the woman in the seat beside her.
“As Kate waved to the cheering crowds Charlotte’s body language showed she is also her mum’s number one fan.
“Looking up at Kate and leaning back slightly she performed a smile of total pride, as though echoing the crowd’s reaction.
“When Kate sat though the pair exchanged giggles as they settled down to watch the tennis.”
She also wore her signature small bow pin to celebrate the occasion.
Meanwhile, Princess Charlotte looked adorable in a navy and white polka-dot dress, complimented with a blue bow hair accessory.
The youngster couldn’t stop smiling as she met with Emma Radacanu before taking her seat.
It marks Kate’s second public appearance of the year amid ongoing cancer treatment and the first event since she attended Trooping the Colour for King Charles‘ birthday last month.
Princess Kate revealed her shock diagnosis earlier this year after being admitted to hospital for major abdominal surgery.
Kate’s appearance at Wimbledon comes just a couple of days after Queen Camilla watched an epic quarter-final clash.
Camilla attended day ten of the Championships, where she met Olympic silver medalist Laura Robson and coach Jamie Delgado, who holds the men’s record for playing in 23 consecutive Wimbledons.
Camilla told Laura it was “so nice to be able to escape for a day”.
'DETERMINED KATE'
By Summer Raemason
Royal expert Ingrid Seward told The Sun: “It was a long held promise that Kate would take Charlotte to the finals as a special treat.
“Kate felt guilty she hadn’t been able to spend as much time as she would have liked to be with the kids because of her exhaustion after her treatment.
“Charlotte has always loved tennis and mum Kate took her to Hurlingham when she was quite young to play tennis there.
“Kate was taught by her dad Michael. William was taught by his mum
Diana and tennis is a big family thing on both sides.
“So it is a super special day for Kate to be able to share it with Charlotte and much more fun for her to have Charlotte there and explain to her the details of what is going on.
“It’s also a distraction so she does not feel she is full and centre of everyone’s attention. Charlotte is there to deflect things away from her too.
“Kate was determined to be at Wimbledon on finals day if she possibly could.
“She knew she probably wouldn’t make both days. But I feel certain we might well see George in Germany tonight with his dad.”