The Duke of Kent was joined by The Duchess of Gloucester and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in the Royal Box at Wimbledon today, to watch Roger Federer defeat Marin Cilic in the men’s singles final.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge celebrate as Roger Federer wins the Men’s final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. Picture by Stephen Lock / i-Images
The Royals watched Federer won the title 6-3 6-1 6-4, cheering him on after Andy Murray crashed out in the quarter finals against America Sam Querrey.
Cilic was battling blisters on his foot throughout the match, at one point seemingly crying into his towel and to his team as he tried to carry on. The player had tried to hide the injury from his opponent throughout the match, but required some attention in the form of new bandages.
The Duke of Kent, President of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, presented the trophies to both players and officials after the thrilling match. The Queen’s cousin has presented trophies at the Championships since his presidency began in 1969.
Many people thought prior to today’s match that The Duchess of Cambridge, newly appointed patron of Wimbledon, would present the trophies; however, tradition prevailed and Catherine watched the presentation with her husband from the box.
As patron, Catherine nominated the children’s mental health charity, Place2Be, to participate in the coin toss. Place2Be is another of The Duchess’ patronages. The charity chose Luca Schmetzer, aged 11, to take part in the ceremony. Luca was invited behind the scenes and shown around the courts by Wimbledon’s ground staff.
This is the first time The Duchess of Cambridge has worn the official Wimbledon colours – green and purple – in a ribbon, which was attached to her dress. Female members of the club generally wear a ribbon, while the men have official ties in the same colours to mark their status.
Luca doing the coin toss at @Wimbledon Men’s Finals watched by our Patron HRH Duchess of Cambridge and Duke of Cambridge. #wimbledon pic.twitter.com/b3TPPKZRRa
— Place2Be (@Place2Be) 16 de julio de 2017
The Royals were joined by an array of famous faces for the final today, including Prime Minister Theresa May, Parliament speaker John Bercow, former UKIP leader Nigel Farage and Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London.
Hollywood royalty was in attendance, with Eddie Redmayne OBE, Bradley Cooper and Hugh Grant watching the match. Catherine’s family was also there, with Carole, James and Pippa watching Roger Federer, who is a family friend – he and wife Mirka were guests at Pippa’s wedding in May.
