July 10, 2024

Queen Camilla attends Wimbledon while Kate Middleton remains absent amid cancer treatment

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Queen Camilla stepped out for a royal tradition Wednesday, attending Wimbledon.

Camilla sat in the Royal Box at center court to watch a quarterfinal women's singles match between Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

Camilla's presence at Wimbledon, a sporting event beloved by members of Britain's royal family, put in the spotlight the absence of Kate, the Princess of Wales, who is royal patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
Britain's Queen Camilla waves as she arrives on Centre Court ahead of the quarterfinal match Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 10, 2024.

Kate, a longtime tennis fan and player, has been royal patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club since 2016. The princess is normally a fixture at Wimbledon, but she has not attended any matches so far this year amid her ongoing treatment for cancer.

In March, the 42-year-old wife of Prince William announced she had been diagnosed with cancer.

The type of cancer has not been disclosed. In a written update shared by Kensington Palace in June, Kate said she is "making good progress" as she undergoes chemotherapy after her diagnosis but is not "out of the woods yet." Kate also said her treatment will continue "for a few more months."

Kate Middleton attends Trooping the Colour in 1st public appearance since cancer diagnosis

After remaining out of the public eye since announcing her diagnosis, Kate stepped out for the first time in public in June to attend Trooping the Colour with other members of the royal family, including Camilla.

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In past years at Wimbledon, as part of her role as royal patron, Kate has sat in the Royal Box at matches and presented the championship trophies to the tournament winners.

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In this July 1, 2023 file photo Catherine, Princess of Wales gives the trophy to Carlos Alcaraz of Spain during the ceremony after winning the Men's Single Final Match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during day fourteen of The Championships Wimbledon 2023 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.

Last year, Kate sat next to tennis legend Billie Jean King at the women's championship and then was joined by her husband William and their two eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, at the men's championship.

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Neither Kensington Palace nor Wimbledon have said whether Kate plans to attend this year's championships, which take place on Saturday and Sunday.