Princess Kate’s Key Ally Breaks Silence on Her Absence

Princess Kate’s key sporting ally has said there will be no “pressure” on her to attend the Wimbledon Championships this summer following her cancer diagnosis.

The Princess of Wales is a regular at the U.K.’s grand slam tournament in her capacity as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), but she has recently been off work receiving chemotherapy, putting her attendance this year in doubt.

In a press briefing on Thursday, Deborah Jevans, the prestigious club’s chair, said Kate’s recovery was the main “priority.”

“Our priority is clearly that our Patron has the time to recover and we’re certainly not going to add any additional pressure on her recovery by speculating on her attendance at this year’s Championships,” she said, per the Daily Express.

The Context
Kate stepped out of the public eye in January to undergo abdominal surgery and in March revealed that post-operative testing found that cancer had been present.

In a statement released in March, Kate revealed her cancer diagnosis to the world and explained she was undergoing a course of “preventative chemotherapy.”

In the months since, speculation about the royal’s return to work and how her absence would be felt at major events has circulated.

Kensington Palace confirmed in May that Kate would not return to royal duties until cleared to do so by her medical team.

What We Know
Jevans is the chair of the AELTC, which Kate was appointed patron of in 2016 by Queen Elizabeth II.

The princess has regularly attended the prestigious championships over her years as a working member of the royal family, and she also did so in a private capacity before her marriage.

In 2023, Kate and Jevans were photographed side by side as they watched one of the matches.

The princess has traditionally presented the trophies to the men’s and women’s singles winners each year.

When asked about who could present the trophies if Kate were unable to attend this year, Jevans said, per the Daily Express: “When it comes to the presentation ceremony, as in previous years, we will announce those that are going to be a part of that ceremony on the morning of the finals, so nothing has changed in that regard.”

Views
Kate’s time out of the public eye and her ultimate return to work have been the basis of increased speculation in recent weeks.

While Prince William provided a small update, telling a D-Day veteran that his wife was getting “better” earlier this month, a culture expert previously told Newsweek that more updates from the palace would help tone down public speculation.

“My advice would be for the palace, however, to give updates that are short and sweet, informing the media and everyone else that the timeline may change and offering a small update,” U.K.-based brand and culture expert, Nick Ede, said.

“This way, it stops crazy conspiracy theories and speculation in their track but doesn’t expose the royal family and the princess at this time.”