Kate Middleton became a talking point on day four of Wimbledon when the Princess of Wales appeared on Court 18 beside Tim Henman.
Kate made a surprise visit to the All England Club. She watched British hopeful Arthur Fery face Finland’s Otto Virtanen in a second-round match.
The Princess of Wales, 44, is a keen tennis fan. She arrived in a mid-blue blazer, matching trousers, a white top and tan pointed heels.
- Kate is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
- She has regularly attended Wimbledon in both official and personal capacities.
- Royal appearances at the tournament often centre on Centre Court and the Royal Box.
- In 2024, Kate presented the men’s singles trophy to Jannik Sinner.
- That 2024 Wimbledon appearance was one of her public appearances after revealing her cancer diagnosis.
- At the start of 2025, Kate said she was in remission.
She then took her seat next to former British No. 1 Tim Henman. Fans and broadcasters quickly noticed.
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The BBC picked up on her arrival during live coverage. Presenter Isa Guha then aimed a playful joke at her colleague Tim Henman.
“Arthur Fery, imagine having to play in front of royalty as well,” Isa said. “The Princess of Wales in the house, there she is, chatting to Tim Henman… hope he’s not boring her.”
Kate looked relaxed during the visit. She smiled, laughed and chatted with Tim before turning her focus to the tennis.
The detail that made Kate Middleton’s Wimbledon visit even more surprising
The BBC also shared another detail from Kate’s day at SW19. Commentator Chris Bradnam told viewers she had helped scan tickets as fans entered the grounds.
“Her Royal Highness, Catherine Prince of Wales, she’s been on duty today, mixing it with the fans, and scanning tickets! Our floor manager Tim told me that – who’d have thought, they’d have been meeting her scanning her ticket, coming into the grounds today, and now [sat] in the middle of fans,” he said.
Tim Henman is a former British No. 1 who became one of Wimbledon’s most prominent home players in the Open Era.
- He reached the Wimbledon semi-finals four times: 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002.
- Henman won 11 ATP singles titles during his career.
- He was a mainstay of British Davis Cup teams across the 1990s and 2000s.
- After retiring from professional tennis in 2007, he moved into broadcasting and has become a familiar BBC voice during Wimbledon coverage.
Moment Kate’s dad left her ‘mortified’ over Wimbledon blunder
It comes after the Princess of Wales previously revealed a blunder her dad Michael Middleton made over Tim Henman.
During a 2017 BBC documentary, Sue Barker: Our Wimbledon, Kate detailed a mix-up that left her feeling “mortified”.
Read more: Princess Kate quietly breaks royal tradition during day four Wimbledon appearance
She revealed that her dad attempted to remain cool and calm when meeting Tim.
“My father is not going to appreciate this, but we were walking past Tim Henman and we had just seen [Pete] Sampras play,” she said.
Kate continued: “My dad said very coolly: ‘Hi Pete.’ I was mortified!”