The unlikely royal to step in for Princess Kate if she can’t attend Wimbledon finals /dn

It is hoped that Princess Kate will be well enough to attend the finals at Wimbledon this weekend, but there is a back-up plan in place.

Princess Kate loves going to Wimbledon (Image: Getty)

Princess Kate’s possible replacement to present the winner’s trophies at Wimbledon has been revealed, and it’s someone many royal fans might not recognise.

As patron of the All England Club the Princess of Wales has presented trophies to the tennis champions since 2016, but her ongoing cancer treatment has raised questions over whether she will feel well enough to do so this weekend.

Kate has only made one public appearance so far this year, at Trooping the Colour last month, but if she is unavailable the Duchess of Gloucester is being lined up to present the awards, according to The Telegraph.

All England Club Chair Debbie Jevans told the publication that officials at Wimbledon would remain “flexible” on arrangements, with a final decision on presenting duties not expected to be made until the morning of the women’s final on Saturday.

Kensington Palace has not confirmed any engagements for the Princess in the foreseeable future as she continues to receive preventative chemotherapy.

The Duchess of Gloucester may present the trophies at Wimbledon (Image: Getty)

A fortnight ago Ms Jevans said she was “hopeful” that the Princess would be at Wimbledon, however it has been reported that during informal discussions the Duchess had emerged as a replacement candidate.

The Duchess of Gloucester was born in Denmark and was known as Birgitte van Deurs Henriksen before she married Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester in 1972.

She is equally as big a tenns fan as Kate and has been an Honorary President of the Lawn Tennis Association for 25 years, having already been spotted at the tournament as a guest of the All England Club last week.

It is hoped Kate will be well enough to attend Wimbledon (Image: Getty)

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Prince William will be unavailable to present the trophies as he is likely to be in Germany for the final of Euro 2024, with England set to play the Netherlands in the semi-final on Wednesday.

As President of the FA William has been cheering his beloved England on for many matches as the royal summer of sport reaches its climax this weekend.

It is hugely important for Wimbledon to have royal support, with the potential optics of the Princess handing a trophy over to a Russian player said to be part of the reason tennis players from Russia were banned following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Prince William has been supporting England in the Euros (Image: Getty)

Ms Jevans previously said: “We’re hopeful that the Princess of Wales will be able to present the trophies as the Club’s patron, but her health and recovery is the priority.

“We don’t know what we don’t know. All we’ve said is that we’ll work with her and give her as much flexibility as possible.

“I don’t know who would present the trophies as an alternative – that’s something to consider nearer the time if necessary. We’re staying flexible. When we hear we’ll then think about what’s the right thing to do.”

Even if Kate cannot attend her parents Carole and Michael Middleton were spotted enjoying the matches on Centre Court last week.

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Megyn Kelly doesn’t like that Meghan Markle calls Harry ‘her husband’ (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage and Chris Carlson/ AP)

Megyn Kelly has another bone to pick with Meghan Markle and this time it’s because she has an issue with the fact she refers to Prince Harry as ‘her husband’.

On the latest episode of her podcast, The Megyn Kelly Show, the American media commentator slammed Markle and said she’d had enough.

‘We get it, you bagged the gorilla,’ she said on Tuesday’s episode.

‘Congratulations, you got the big bear, [and] you want us all to know.’

The comments were in response to the latest episode of Markle’s own podcast, Archetypes, when she said that her husband was ‘great’ with contributing equally to parenting.

‘Oh, my husband? Oh, he’s great,’ she said.

‘[He] gets [Archie] downstairs’, while she added she would make breakfast for the family.

‘It’s very important to me. I love doing it.’

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With Christopher Anderson, author of The King: The Life of Charles III, Kelly’s guest on the program, the pair also discussed claims made in the Oprah interview, including a part where Markle said she never looked up the Royal family prior to her relationship.

Anderson claimed that, like ‘every other young woman’, she knew exactly who they were.

‘Let’s get real, there’s always that eligible bachelor,’ Kelly agreed.

‘For my age, it was JFK Jr., for her age it was Prince Harry.’

Kelly says the couple ‘owe’ the Royals (Picture: Samir Hussein/WireImage)

Kelly also criticised the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for ‘ripping on the Royals to whom they owe, literally, all of their fame and most of their fortune.’

The comments come as the world waits to see the contents of Harry’s memoir, Spare, which will now be released on January 10 after being delayed due to the Queen’s passing.

The 416-page book has been billed by publisher Penguin Random House as a work of ‘raw, unflinching honesty’.

Relatives were not given a heads-up on the title – a reference to the phrase the ‘the heir and the spare’ – in advance of last week’s announcement, with a source telling the Daily Mail it will be seen as both ‘controversial’ and ‘provocative’.

Harry has previously called the book a ‘truthful and wholly accurate’ portrait of his life – the prospect of which has sent shockwaves through the royal establishment.

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