Catherine, Princess of Wales, breaks Wimbledon tradition

The Princess of Wales has returned to public for only the second time this year and there was nothing ordinary or usual about it.

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Oh, we needed this… A pure moment, one of undiluted goodness, a moment of love and affection and all the warm and fuzzy feelings it is possible to squeeze into 33 seconds.

On Sunday, UK time, Kate, the Princess of Wales, appeared on Centre Court at Wimbledon for the men’s final and the reception she received from the crowd could hardly have been more rapturous if she had descended from above, bathed in golden light and had sprouted angelic wings.

For only the second time this year, Kate has appeared in public as she continues to undergo chemotherapy for an unidentified form of cancer. (It was also her first engagement of the year tied to one of her patronages and her first solo one since November, 2023.)

Even for a woman whose life is the very definition of the surreal, what waited for her was out-of-the-ordinary. Despite having been to the famed tennis tournament 11 times since becoming an HRH, only voluntarily missing out once (and then only on doctors’ orders ahead of the birth of Prince George) what played out as she arrived was something a little bit special.

The Princess of Wales with daughter Charlotte at Wimbledon on Sunday. Picture: Ben Stansall/AFP
Not only did the 15,000-strong crowd erupt when Kate arrived, putting on a highly unusual display of naked emotion, the Princess of Wales did, to a degree, too.

The princess might roll up to events with a poise and confidence such that you’d think there was some fragmentary Hapsberg DNA in her family tree however in private Kate is, by all accounts, shy and something of an introvert.

Meanwhile, Britain is hardly a nation that is much good at showing emotion are they? The last time they probably collectively experienced such an outward pouring of unadulterated feeling it was the ‘68 World Cup final and to this day they have not lived it down at the pub.

And yet when Kate entered on Sunday, not only did the stands take to their feet to give her a standing ovation but the 42-year-old deviated from standard form and acknowledged the sweet showing.

Kate received a hero’s welcome to Wimbledon on Sunday. Picture: Andrej Isakovic/AFP
Even for someone whose life must involve an unnatural amount of applause already and regularly being showered with devotion from complete strangers, it was a pretty extraordinary instance of public feeling swelling and breaking through.

In Wimbledons past, the arrival of the Princess of Wales and that nice balding man she lets come to things with her (William something?) was not met with a stadium full of people immediately jumping to their feet.

And nor does Kate usually respond.

Faced with this overwhelming display, rather than offer up a little demure, demi-wave of sorts, the princess paused and stayed standing for several seconds in recognition of the crowd, a broad smile on her face.

As veteran Getty photographer Karwai Tang, who shot the event explained to People, “When [Kate] usually comes in, she walks down the steps and into her seat. She doesn’t normally stand and wave. But she stood for a while and took it all in. For her to acknowledge it and take in the applause was special.”

Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales, arriving in the Royal Box at Wimbledon on July 14. Picture: Andrej Isakovic/AFP
The video of this moment, shared by the official Wimbledon social media accounts, is nothing short of a tonic at a moment when the world feels like it is close to spinning off its axis. Perhaps that’s why the video of Kate arriving and the rousing reaction she got has been viewed more than 12 million times alone on the tournament’s Instagram and X accounts.

Much-overlooked was another sweet Kate moment when, on Saturday, her and husband Prince William took to social media to hail Princess Anne’s return to public after being hospitalised with head injuries. (Buckingham Palace has never said exactly what happened but photos of Anne show yellow bruising still clearly visible on one side of her face nearly three weeks after the accident that is reported to have involved a horse.)

On paper these two princesses might have absolutely nothing in common aside from a smattering of letters before their names and the Buckingham Palace wifi password but I think Kate’s Wimbledon showing and Anne getting back to it can really tell us something about what it takes to be royal.

Kate, arriving at the All England Club, in 2022. Picture: Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images
Gumption. Grit. Getting out of bed at times when one might be quite literally bruised because they are committed to Duty and other words that tend to get capitalised.

Both princesses have just demonstrated exactly this quality.

Where Kate and Anne part ways though, beyond the younger royal routinely turning down her aunt-in-law’s offer to teach her the right way to birth a foal, is that the Princess Royal was born to this. The Princess of Wales has had to learn on the job while the entire world watched, a task so daunting to even remotely contemplate it is liable to induce anxiety. (Don’t try it, trust me.)

The ovation Kate got on Sunday was yes, of course, a recognition of her bravery in the face of cancer, that f**ker of a disease, but it was also about the public expressing their extreme approval of the job of the has and is doing.

The reason this ovation happened, the reason this all played out, was because over the course of 13-years the princess earned it. She has proven herself. The princess has won over an entire nation and now, her hold on the public’s hearts and minds is complete.

In January 2022, “an impeccably placed, longstanding royal insider”, speaking to the Sunday Times, predicted of the next King and Queen: “William will be respected. Catherine will be loved.”

I think we can comfortably change that “will be” to “is”. Absolutely and definitely is already.