It's official! Kate Middleton will attend this year's Wimbledon Championships in person and as she continues treatment for an unspecified type of cancer.
According to People, Kensington Palace has confirmed that the Princess of Wales will be in the crowd during the men’s singles final at Wimbledon on Sunday, July 14.
Princess Kate will not, however, visit the England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Saturday to present the women's champion with their hard-earned trophy, the Venus Rosewater Dish.
Instead, Wimbledon chairwoman Debbie Jevans will fill in for the Princess of Wales and present the women's champion trophy on her behalf, The Daily Mail reports.
Up until now, Middleton's possible attendance was something of a lingering question mark, as she remains mainly out of the public eye as she privately continues preventative cancer treatment and recovers alongside her immediate family.
According to a close friend of Middleton's, it was "no secret that (Princess Kate) would dearly love to be" at Wimbledon this year, but added that "when you're having chemo, as she herself said, there are good days and bad days."
"A lot depends on the timing of the treatments," the source told The Daily Beast in a recent interview. "She made it to Trooping the Colour, so if she can make it to Wimbledon, she will."
According to former royal butler Paul Burrell—who worked for the royal family for 21 years—the decision as to whether or not Princess Kate would attend Wimbledon this year was ultimately up to her husband, Prince William, who Burrell said is "fiercely protective" of his wife.
"William controls this household, and William will decide whether she's well enough to do this, because he's the one that protects the family—fiercely,” Burrell recently told The Sun. “There’s no way he’s going to subject Kate to intrusion that she can’t handle.
“With William by her side, Kate’s safe because he will take care of her and would never let anyone harm her,” Burrell added.
In a 2017 BBC documentary titledSue Barker: Our Wimbledon, the Princess of Wales—the patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club—confessed that watching Wimbledon was "very much part of me growing up."
“It’s such a quintessential part of the English summer, and I think it really inspires youngsters, myself—it inspired me when I was younger to get involved in the game," she said at the time. "It hasn’t changed, either. I think that’s what’s so wonderful.”
Traditionally, Middleton presents the winning trophies to both winners of the oldest and arguably most prestigious tennis tournament in the world.
