Kate Middleton shares her family’s super-close-knit hobby

Kate Middleton is sharing one of the Welsh family’s favourite pastimes. When she does Highly anticipated debut at Wimbledon This year, in an elegant purple dress from Safiyaa, the Princess of Wales shared that her love of tennis runs in her family. Kate, who sat in the Royal Box with her daughter Charlotte and sister Pippa during Sunday’s men’s singles final, told the players that her family enjoys playing tennis as much as they enjoy watching it on court.

The royal, who is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, is said to have told players she was “filling the board” at Wimbledon with Charlotte. “As a family, we play a lot,” Kate revealed as she made her second public appearance since announcing she was undergoing cancer treatment.

Princess Charlotte, who looks set to follow in her mother’s footsteps, appeared to be overwhelmed when women’s singles champion Barbora Krejčiková presented the young royal with her winning racket. Krejčiková, who won the title against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini the day before, can be seen introducing herself to both Kate and Charlotte in a video shared by Kensington Palace on X (formerly Twitter)).

As Charlotte held the racket in her hands, the Princess of Wales said, “That was very special,” and kissed the tennis player on both cheeks. “Thank you so much, we really appreciate it.”

As well as sharing her mother’s love of tennis, a royal expert said Princess Charlotte’s appearance with Middleton at Wimbledon illustrated their “special bond”.

The nine-year-old royal, who could be seen smiling brightly at Kate as she received a standing ovation at the match, showed “every sign” of caring for her mother during her illness, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond is said to have said OK! Magazine.

“Charlotte is now at an age where she may feel she can reverse roles a little and look after her mother while she recovers,” the royal expert said. “Charlotte certainly shows every sign of Catherine in terms of her appearance and her love of sport and the great outdoors.”