There was a special reason behind Princess Kate's Wimbledon guest choices and it's lovely

The Princess of Wales returned to the spotlight this weekend, attending the Wimbledon Gentleman's Singles Final in her second public appearance of the year.

The 42-year-old mother of three has been on a temporary break from public duties in 2024, recovering in private following the news of her cancer diagnosis. And while Princess Kate herself has stated that she is "not out of the woods", she is reported to be making “good progress", set to gradually start attending engagements this season.

The Wimbledon Championships marked her second public appearance in her grand return to royal life, with Princess Kate attending the Gentleman's Singles Final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic on Sunday.

As Patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Princess Kate is no stranger to Wimbledon, presenting the trophies to the champions each year. But given her illness and ongoing treatment, royal experts have explained that this year's attendance would have taken a great deal of "inner strength", particularly without "fiercely protective" Prince William by her side. The Prince of Wales was in Germany at the time.

Instead, Princess Kate chose two of her biggest supporters to be her guests, accompanied by her sister Pippa Middleton and daughter Princess Charlotte.

Pippa and Charlotte have been credited by commentators as two of Princess Kate's rocks over the past few months, with Princess Charlotte reportedly being very "protective" of her mother.

"I think that Charlotte is really taking care of her mum,” explained royal expert Ingrid Seward to Hello!. "Charlotte seems to be very full of admiration for her mother, which I think is a lovely thing, too."

According to Seward, via The Sun, there was also another special reason behind Princess Charlotte's attendance, with the mother-daughter duo sharing a love of tennis and a promise to attend a final together.

"It was a long held promise that Kate would take Charlotte to the finals as a special treat," Seward told the publication. "Charlotte has always loved tennis and mum Kate took her to Hurlingham when she was quite young to play tennis there."

The Princess of Wales' second appearance was undoubtedly a success, with Kate herself posting her excitement to social media.

"Great to be back at Wimbledon," the Princess of Wales captioned a series of photographs of her and Princess Charlotte from the day. "There's nothing quite like The Championships".

It is not known when the Princess of Wales will return to work in a more permanent capacity, but she has thanked the public for their "continued understanding" and for those "who have so bravely shared [their] stories" with her.

We will continue to update this story.