Kate arrives at Wimbledon: Princess of Wales wows crowd as she appears in SW19 for first time at this year's championships

By LETTICE BROMOVSKY AT WIMBLEDON and OLIVIA CHRISTIE, NEWS REPORTER Published: 11:25, 2 July 2026 | Updated: 12:30, 2 July 2026 The Princess of Wales has wowed the Wimbledon crowds as she arrived at the Championships for the first time this year.  Catherine, 44, smiled as she chatted to members of the public who had joined the queue for Wimbledon tickets in the early hours of this morning. She also helped hand out grounds passes to tennis fans, some of whom had camped overnight in Wimbledon Park to secure coveted access to the tournament.  Kate posed for selfies with members of the public, affectionately putting her arm around one woman who was holding her phone in one hand and her queue card in the other.  She was also overheard telling two attendees 'have a really fun time' as she handed them their tickets.  Speaking to two excited children, Kate asked them if they were big tennis fans, to which they smiled and nodded. One attendee congratulated the princess on her recent Three Peaks challenge. Kate donned an elegant blue linen suit for the occasion, which she paired with a white top and Ralph Lauren sunglasses.  She wore her hair in a pony tail and finished off the outfit with a pair of drop earrings with an an oval royal-blue gemstone. Kate puts her arm around a tennis fan as they pose for a selfie together in Wimbledon Park  The Princess of Wales helps out in the ticket office on day four of the Championships Princess of Wales watches Arthur Fery with Tim Henman Catherine, 44, smiled as she chatted to members of the public who had joined the queue for Wimbledon tickets in the early hours of this morning Kate joined Tim Henman courtside as they watched one of the matches on the outside courts Kate donned a stunning blue suit and white top for her appearance at the Championships today In a break from tradition, Kate did not sit in the Royal Box but watched one of the matches on the outside courts alongside former British number one Tim Henman.   They were joined by chair of the All England Club Deborah Jevans to support up and coming British star Arthur Fery, 23, who is taking on Otto Virtanen on Court 18.  Retired building surveyor Maurice Jones, 77, from Epping bumped into Kate while she was walking past Henman Hill to watch the match.  He said: 'She asked me which court are you going to be watching and which players I'm going to be watching. I told her we're in number one court. 'She said "I hope you have a nice time, it's a good day for it". It was very nice to speak to her. I had no idea she would be here. 'I was very pleased that she was about and that she did the long walk (the three peaks challenge) the other day.' After leaving Court 18, Kate walked over to Wimbledon's media centre to get a behind the scenes glimpse at how the Championships is broadcast to the world.  Later, Kate will meet members of the Shine Camera Club, a creative photography programme which supports children from disadvantaged backgrounds.  During her time at Wimbledon today, Kate is expected to watch a match on one of the outer courts, alongside Tim Henman The Princess of Wales has wowed the Wimbledon crowd as she appeared at the Championships for the first time this year As a royal patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club since 2016, Kate is a regular fixture at the prestigious tournament A tennis fan purchases their grounds pass off Kate as she helped out in the ticket office this morning Kate speaks to the crowds during her visit to the Championships today  As a royal patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club since 2016, Kate is a regular fixture at the prestigious tournament. She has attended most years since 2011, missing only 2013, when she was pregnant with Prince George, and 2020, when the tournament was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Kate's appearance at the Championships today comes just days after she completed the gruelling Three Peaks Challenge on Saturday night. She did the endurance event solo and was supported on the route by Mountain Rescue, with her family meeting her at the last stop at the base of Snowdon in Wales.  It has a total walking distance of 23 miles (37 kilometres), an ascent of 10,05ft of vertical climbing and a driving distance between the peaks of approximately 462 miles. The Princess was driven between the peaks - Scotland, then England and finally Wales - by her team.  It is not believed that any other member of the Royal Family has completed the Three Peaks Challenge, also making the princess's triumph a royal first. Kate was last at Wimbledon for the men's final last year when she handed Jannik Sinner the Wimbledon trophy following an enthralling four-set battle.  Princess of Wales attends the tournament on day four of The Championships  Kate was last at Wimbledon for the men's final last year when she handed Jannik Sinner the Wimbledon trophy following an enthralling four-set battle Kate's appearance at the Championships today comes just days after she completed the gruelling Three Peaks Challenge on Saturday night She was joined in the Royal Box on that occasion by her husband Prince William, eldest son Prince George and Princess Charlotte but Louis stayed at home. The Princess donned her 'Wimbledon bow' - a brooch featuring the tournament's iconic colours.  Kate was also present for the 2025 women's final and offered consoling words to the runner-up Amanda Anisimova after her 6-0, 6-0 loss to Polish player Iga Swiatek. In 2024, while recovering from cancer, Kate did not attend the women's final but was on hand for Carlos Alcaraz's win over Novak Djokovic at the All England Club. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. 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