The Duchess of Cambridge is set to make another annual trip to her beloved Wimbledon this year to watch the women’s final alongside Meghan Markle.
The pair were spotted at the tournament last year during their first public appearance together, also at the women’s final.
The royals, both 37, will be on hand to watch Meghan’s close friend Serena Williams take on Romanian player Simona Halep on Centre Court this afternoon.
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The Duchess of Cambridge is set to make another annual trip to her beloved Wimbledon this year to watch the women’s final alongside Meghan Markle. Pictured is Kate’s first public appearance at Wimbledon as Prince William’s girlfriend in 2007
She attended the tournament with a friend in 2007 before she had access to the royal box
She returned the following year in 2008 with her friend Sophie Carter to watch Rafael Nadal beat Nicholas Kiefer in the third round of the men’s singles
While the pair have both been spotted at the tournament separately this year, Meghan’s appearance sparked controversy after fellow spectators were banned from taking pictures of her.
Her team insisted it was a ‘private outing’, despite taxpayers forking out £2.4million for renovations to her new home.
Kensington Palace declined to comment – but a royal source told MailOnline: ‘It’s not uncommon for personal protection officers accompanying any members of the Royal Family to ask people not to take pictures so they can engage with people and events rather than camera phones’.
A firm fan of the sport, it is believed Kate has only missed Wimbledon once – in 2013 when she was heavily pregnant with Prince George.
And the Duchess used to queue for hours hoping to get into the grounds and Henman Hill before she had access to the royal box.
She was first publicly pictured at Wimbledon as Prince William’s girlfriend in 2007 when she attended with one of her friends.
In 2008 she returned to the courts again with her friend Sophie Carter to watch Rafael Nadal beat Nicholas Kiefer in the third round of the men’s singles.
A spectator taking a selfie while Meghan’s personal assistant (dressed in white), raises her hand, in an attempt to stop pictures being taken of the Duchess of Sussex
The man spoken to by the bodyguard was taking a selfie with the famous tennis court in the background, which was clearly shown on the screen of his mobile phone
In 2011 she watched Wimbledon from the royal box for the first time as Prince Williams wife, just a few months after their marriage in April
Ever the enthusiast, Kate has never been one to shy away from showing how invested she is in the sport with her facial expressions
The following year in 2012 Kate returned to the All Lawn Tennis and Croquet club, the venue of Wimbledon, with her sister Pippa. Kate was forced to miss the tournament in 2013 because she was heavily pregnant with Prince George and her doctor didn’t let her go
While she wasn’t pictured attending in 2009 and 2010 her love of what she calls the ‘quintessential part of the English summer’ suggests she would have been watching.
After her marriage to Prince William in April 2011 she made her first royal appearance at Wimbledon just a few months later in June.
And since then the only thing to have stopped her attending the oldest tennis tournament in the world was her being heavily pregnant with Prince George in 2013.
In a BBC interview with Sue Barker in 2017 Kate revealed how she ‘begged’ her doctor to let her go to the final between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic and even wrote to the victorious Brit to apologise for her absence.
She was back on fighting form in 2014 and was pictured joyously cheering on competitors from the stands
In a BBC interview with Sue Barker the Duchess described Wimbledon as the ‘quintessential part of the English summer’. Pictured is a tense Kate attending Wimbledon in 2014
She told how she was inspired by great tennis players such as Pete Sampras and Goran Ivanisevic and revealed that every time she watches Wimbledon she thinks: ‘Yes, I could do the same’.
Recalling her first ever visit to the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, where Wimbledon is held, she revealed she queued for so long that she didn’t get in until late in the day but luckily ‘play went on quite late’.
Talking of how inspired she gets while watching the talented players at Wimbledon she said she always thinks she can ‘do the same and get out the racket’ but admitted ‘sadly never with the same results’.
It will be the second time in less than a week that the Duchesses will have stepped out together, following their family day out to the polo on Wednesday.
Kate and Meghan brought along their children to watch William and Harry go head-to-head in Wokingham, Surrey. It marked two-month-old Archie’s first public event.
In 2015 she returned to the grounds once more to watch Djokovic beat Federer in the men’s final
Wearing a sunny yellow dress, the Duchess attended Wimbledon in 2016 for her sixth time as Prince William’s wife
Kate and Meghan are set to attend the women’s final together today to watch Serena Williams and Simona Halep go head to head. The pair went to the women’s final last year as their first public appearance together where they watched Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber. Pictured is Kate at Wimbledon in 2017
Kate took over the Queen’s role and became the patron of the All Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in January 2017. Pictured is the Duchess attending Wimbledon last year
Kate and Meghan were spotted together last year at Wimbledon during their first public appearance together