"It was quite a surprise to see her at the Wimbledon final, and we know that the Princess is a huge fan of tennis,"Royal expertKatie Nicholltells ET."Since 2016 she's been patron of the Lawn Tennis Association. She's been at every Wimbledon, so I think we all hoped that we would see her there."
The appearance was a pleasant surprise for the crowd, who greeted the 42-year-old witha standing ovation and a round of applause as she made her way to her seat inside the Royal Box at Centre Court to watch the match.
The Princess of Wales brought her and Prince William's 9-year-old daughter, Princess Charlotte , who trailed behind her mom as she made her entrance. The two were also joined by Kate's sister, Pippa Middleton.
Kate Middleton attends Wimbledon with Princess Charlotte
Karwai Tang/WireImage
"When she turned up, the crowd showed their appreciation with the standing ovation, which went on for quite a while actually, and the Princess [was] very, very touched by that," Nicholl adds. "I think she looked quite overwhelmed by the moment, absolutely delighted to be there."
Noting that Kate is an avid fan of tennis, Nicholl adds that she feels as if "the Wimbledon championships has become synonymous with the Princess of Wales."
"She is a great tennis player. She's a huge fan of the game, and clearly Princess Charlotte has the tennis bug, too, something that runs in the Middleton family. So I think, for Kate to have not gone, and would have been a great shame for royal fans, for tennis fans and for the Princess herself," she says. "This was an important event for her."
Kate popped in style as she wore a custom royal purple dress by Safiyaa, accessorized witha bow tie pin representing her role. The pin features the club's official colors, purple and dark green.
Nicholl notes that the Princess looked "resplendent" in her purple dress, adding that it was chosen"because the colors of Wimbledon are green and purple, so that that color of dress was a very deliberate choice, and I think she looked incredibly well and very happy to be there."
"We know that the Princess is undergoing a course of preventative chemotherapy, that she's still undergoing that course, and we know from what she said, that there are good days and bad days," Nicholl shares. "This, of course, is only her second public appearance. Since her cancer diagnosis, she was determined to be at Wimbledon."
The princess made her first public appearance of 2024 in June when she joined the royal family during the Trooping the Colour ceremony . Nicholl tells ET that the mother of three was "determined" to attend the King's official birthday celebration, despite the ups and downs of her treatment.
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"She explained that she has good days, and she has bad days, and we know from the palace that when they announce that she's going to attend an engagement, it's always with the caveat that if she's not feeling well on the day she may have to pull out of something at the 11th hour," Nicholl explains. "Fortunately that wasn't the case, and she was able to attend the finals for Wimbledon."
When it comes to any future updates, Nicholl says that, while fans can expect more information on Kate's progress "at some point," seeing how well she looks in person is an uplifting sight.
"I think when we look at the Princess, we see her looking as well as she did, smiling, healthy, radiant, and we can assume that she's now tolerating this chemotherapy far better than she was in the early stages and that she's doing well at the moment," she adds.
Absent from the match were Prince William and Prince George, 10, who were in Berlin, Germany, for theUEFA European Championship . The pair was watching the final between England and Spain, which Nicholl says is expected since George has "absolutely inherited his father's love of football."
William is the President of the Football Association, the governing body of soccer in England, and while it's expected for him to be at important matches, Nicholl says it'snot an obligation, it's an absolute joy and a privilege," for the father of three.
Prince George and Prince William attend the Euro Final on July 14.
Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
"I think, having Princess Kate and Charlotte at [Wimbledon], William and Prince George over at the football for the final; we're seeing a bit more of normal family life," Nicholl says. "We know it's been a very, very difficult few months for the family, as Kate's gone through her shocking cancer diagnosis and clearly some pretty grueling treatment. But I think there's a real sense that things are on the up for this family as they finish the summer."
Nicholl says that despite the family's recent outings, she believes it's "unlikely" that Kate will make more appearances.
"I was told there were two key engagements that she wanted to make: Trooping the Colour, and Wimbledon, both of which she was able to attend," the royal expert says. "I was speaking to a source at the palace earlier, who have confirmed that [the children] are on summer recess and they will now just stay away from the public gaze. They will hunker down as a family, more likely than not at Norfolk and Mahal, their countryside bolt hole, and the Princess is not able to travel at the moment while she's undergoing this course of preventative chemotherapy. So I think that probably rules out an overseas holiday. "
She adds, "I think it's likely that we will see the family go to Scotland at the invitation of the King and Queen later this summer in August. But I think it's going to be low-key and very much below the radar, so I don't think we can expect to see the Princess of Wales for some time now."
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