Kate Middleton Attending Wimbledon Opening Day

Kensington Palace has announced that Kate Middleton will be in attendance on the opening day of the Wimbledon Championships this year. While it won’t be the first time the Duchess has attended the competition, it will be the first time she has attended as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club. Queen Elizabeth filled that role for 64 years but transferred it to Kate in December.

According to Hello Magazine, Middleton will arrive before the first match begins and will meet some of the ball boys and ball girls who will be working at the championship. She will chat with them about their experiences at the event. This will be followed by meetings with multiple people who fill a variety of roles in making the competition happen. Among the people to whom Kate will be introduced at these meetings are medical and safety personnel and Wimbledon stewards.

Both Middleton and Prince William are fans of the game with her normally attending most of the Wimbledon matches and at least one day of the tournament the past. The two of them are often guests of honor at the single men’s final as well. They did not get to see all of Andy Murray’s matches last year but were on hand to see him win his second title.

Kate Middleton is reportedly also a tennis player herself. While at the tournament in 2016, she indicated that Prince George has a racket and that they sometimes play together. The Mirror reported that she indicated that she and Prince William sometimes play tennis together, but that she finds him frustrating to play against because he is left-handed.

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During her Wimbledon visit in 2016, Kate met some of the ball boys and ball girls just as she will next week. She also met some wheelchair players during that visit. There’s no word on whether she will do the same this year. She also spoke to Oracene Price, mother of Venus and Serena Williams, at the 2016 event and wished both of them luck in their matches.

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While all members of the Middleton family have been seen at the annual competition in the past, there is no word at this time on which of them will be in attendance next week.

[Featured Image by Chris Jackson/Getty Images]