Kate, Princess of Wales, was previously caught short and had to dash for home after her phone informed her of a health alert. Kate Middleton has already attended a handful of Wimbledon Championships games this year. The Princess was pictured at SW19 on day two of the games to support British Number one Katie Boulter.
She was later pictured alongside former world champion Roger Federer, who was honoured in a special ceremony to mark his time in the game after retiring last year. Kate’s name has become synonymous with Wimbledon, the Duchess being the patron of various tennis organisations, including the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, The Lawn Tennis Association, and The 1851 Trust. A regular at the games, things took an unexpected turn a few years ago after her phone informed her she had been in close contact with someone infected with COVID-19.
The Duchess was as a result rushed out of the courts and sent home. She could be seen checking her mobile phone as she sat packed in with other exclusive guests in the Royal Box. At the time, in 2019, rules dictated that anyone who had been in close contact with someone infected must immediately go into self-isolation. Kate had been cheering on the then British number one Dan Evans — who was dumped out of the 2023 games in the first round — just as he was starting his Wimbledon journey.
After returning home, she went into isolation for 10 days at Kensington Palace, at this point having already had her coronavirus vaccine, and is understood to have tested negative for the virus. A spokesperson for Kensington Palace confirmed: “Last week the Duchess of Cambridge came into contact with someone who has subsequently tested positive for COVID-19. “Her Royal Highness is not experiencing any symptoms, but is following all relevant Government guidelines and is self-isolating at home.”
Luckily for Kate, her stint in isolation was up just in time for the Wimbledon ladies’ final, which saw Ashleigh Barty take the title. Making up for lost time, she made an appearance at the club the following day for the men’s final — won by Novak Djokovic — before travelling over to Wembley to see England lose to Italy in the delayed Euro 2020 final. While Kate was lucky enough to escape catching the virus, other members of the Royal Family weren’t so lucky.
Her husband, Prince William, contracted the virus in April 2020 but did not make it public at the time. He only revealed the news seven months later, The Sun newspaper reported that he was hit “pretty hard” by it and at one point struggled to breathe. Princess Anne came down with the virus and was forced to miss Christmas Day with her mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 2020, while Princess Michael of Kent also suffered from strong symptoms in November 2020.
Things are different since the World Health Organisation (WHO) earlier this year declared COVID-19 no longer a global health emergency, with few cases recorded in the UK. It means not only Kate but the public can enjoy Wimbledon and other sporting events without the fear of infection lingering over their days out. Wimbledon has for Kate been a lifelong passion, the Duchess telling Sue Barker in the 2017 BBC documentary, ‘Sue Barker: Our Wimbledon’, that the games were “very much part of my growing up.”
She continued: “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.” Praising Wimbledon’s timelessness, she added: “It hasn’t changed either, I think that’s what’s so wonderful.”
