‘It’s great to be back’: Kate Middleton makes spectacular appearance at Wimbledon

Princess Catherine returns to Wimbledon

Catherine, Princess of Wales, received a standing ovation, as is customary for tournament winners, as she arrived at Wimbledon on Sunday. She was accompanied by her daughter, Princess Charlotte, and her sister Pippa.

A message posted on her and Prince William’s X account as she watched the men’s final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic read: “It’s great to be back at @Wimbledon! There’s nothing like The Championships.”

It was Kate Middleton’s second public appearance since revealing in March that she had been diagnosed with cancer. At the time, in an unprecedented video address, Middleton said she had “good days and bad days” but added: “I hope to do some public engagements over the summer,” fueling hopes she would appear today.

Her spectacular return to the royal box at Centre Court on Sunday was the realisation of that hope. Kate smiled and waved to the cheering crowd, who cheered her as she took her seats. Also in attendance were stars including Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Kensington Palace announced Kate Middleton’s appearance yesterday. It is only her second public appearance since she revealed in March that she had been diagnosed with cancer. At the time, in an unprecedented video address, Catherine said she had “good days and bad days” but added: “I hope to do some public engagements over the summer.”

Her day will conclude, it is expected, with the princess presenting the most prestigious trophy in lawn tennis to the winner, as she has done every year since 2016 (even though she did not reach the women’s final yesterday).

Kate’s appearance at Wimbledon will be seen as a hugely encouraging sign that her cancer treatment is progressing well. As The Daily Beast reported Saturday, a friend of the couple commented upon hearing the news: “This is fantastic news and a great omen. It’s exactly what everyone has been praying for.”

A friend of Kate and William told The Daily Beast last week: “It’s no secret that she would love to be there, but when you’re going through chemotherapy, as she herself has said, there are good days and bad days. It all depends on the timing of the treatments. She was able to attend Trooping the Colour, so if she can come to Wimbledon, she will.”

Kate’s husband Prince William will be in Germany tonight for the England v Spain Euro final, possibly accompanied by his son Prince George.

King Charles keeps his counsel

King Charles III has yet to comment on Donald Trump’s assassination attempt. He may decide not to change things. The rest of the family will follow his lead and follow his example.

His perspective is fascinating, however, because on January 26, 1994, while on an official visit to Sydney, Prince Charles was shot by David Kang. The motive for this mock assassination attempt was later revealed to be a protest against the treatment of Cambodian boat people.

Charles displayed remarkable composure; as soon as his security team had Kang under control, he adjusted his suit, looked around at the crowd, and with a slight smile joked, “Now where was I?”

Kang pleaded guilty to making unlawful threats of violence and was sentenced to 500 hours of community service but, incredibly, served no jail time. He later became a lawyer in Sydney.

Harry’s Little Genius

Royal and military sources have criticized Prince Harry, who accepted an ESPY award this week for seeking attention, and the situation was not helped when he was called a “divisive” choice by Mary Tillman, the mother of Pat Tillman, the multimillionaire football player who signed up after 9/11 and was tragically killed, and in whose honor the award was created.

Harry responded to this criticism by using his acceptance speech to praise Mary, saying: “Her advocacy for Pat’s legacy is deeply personal and I respect it… The bond between a mother and her son is eternal and transcends even the greatest loss.”

Rock On!

Prince George became a fan of rock band Queen after they performed for the late Queen Elizabeth at her grand Platinum Jubilee concert (the so-called Platinum Party at the Palace) in 2022.

However, George got confused over who was singing (Adam Lambert, who replaced Freddie Mercury) and who was playing guitar (the formidable Brian May).

Lambert told the Sun: “It was such an honour. I got to meet Princess Kate, it was fabulous. She was absolutely lovely, down to earth and charming. She was talking about her son remembering performing with the Queen at the palace for the Platinum Jubilee two years before. She was like, he said, ‘Oh, is Adam going to play guitar?’

“She was like, ‘I think he didn’t know who was playing guitar and who was who, but he remembered who you were.’ I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cute.’ You could tell she really wanted to take a second to connect and say thank you.”

Kate, the Sun he said he was probably referring to George being 8 years old in 2022.

Meghan Markle’s Six-Figure Salary From ‘Suits’

Meghan Markle reportedly made around $200,000 (£155,000) from the sale of her TV show Costumes to Netflix, and perhaps even more through the sale of the show to broadcasters around the world, Sunday Mail “The series broke records last year when it was released on Netflix and the American platform Peacock, becoming the most streamed show of 2023 and topping the charts for 12 consecutive weeks,” said the Mail reports.

Interest in the show has grown since Meghan married Prince Harry: she starred in the series from 2011 to 2017, leaving her role when she and Prince Harry took up a relationship.

This week in royal history

July 17 is both Queen Camilla’s birthday – she turns 77 on Wednesday – and the fourth wedding anniversary of Princess Beatrice and Eduardo Mapelli Mozzi.

Unanswered questions

Who will win today’s Wimbledon and European Cup grand final? And how will Kate and William celebrate?