The unexpected British royal who could replace Kate Middleton at the Wimbledon finals

Since 2016, one of Kate Middleton‘s many responsibilities within the British royal family has been sitting as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. In this capacity, Princess Kate is charged with presenting the trophies to the winners of the Wimbledon Championships — the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world.

However, Kate‘s ongoing treatment for cancer has plunged her status for the Wimbledon finals in doubt. It is far from certain as to whether the Princess of Wales will be able to attend the tournament at all, given her precarious health — and if she is unable to award the singles and doubles trophies this year, the royals will have to assign the responsibility to someone new.

The royal family lines up Birgitte as Kate’s replacement

According to the Daily Express, citing the Telegraph, the next in line to award the Wimbledon trophies would be a lesser-known royal: Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester.

Birgitte, a Danish-born royal family member, married Richard, Duke of Gloucester, in 1972 — thus marrying into the House of Windsor, from which the past five British monarchs have emerged. Birgitte has been attending this year’s Wimbledon Championships and, like Kate, is known as a big tennis fan — she has been an Honorary President of the Lawn Tennis Association since 1999.

At any rate, All England Club Chair Debbie Jevans has indicated that a final decision on the royal family’s presenting duties for the 2024 Wimbledon Championships would not be made until this weekend. The women’s final takes place on Saturday, July 13, and the men’s championship match will take place on Sunday.