Back in February, we learned that the Queen was “forcing” the Duchess of Cambridge to take on another patronage. But this time, the patronage seemed like something fun, something that Kate could call “work” but she would actually enjoy. The rumor going around in February was that the Queen had earmarked the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club patronage for Kate. That’s basically like being an ambassador for Wimbledon. Considering Kate loves all things tennis-related and she rearranges her schedule to attend Wimbledon, this seemed like an obvious patronage for Kate. Hell, it might even be something in which she excels. Apparently though, there’s a slight hiccup. The Queen is going to have to toss out the Duke of Kent – this will be the Duke’s last year with passing out the trophies at Wimbledon. Sad!
The Duchess of Cambridge has won a smashing Wimbledon victory – having been handed the plum job of presenting the trophies to the champions. But Kate’s triumph has come at a cost – with the Queen having to tell her cousin the Duke of Kent to step aside from the cherished role he has performed for more than 40 years.
To soften the blow, the 80-year-old Duke has been allowed one final year in the job before Kate takes over in 2017. Tennis-mad Kate, 34, is believed to be in line to replace the Queen as patron of the All England Club this summer, a role which would see her outrank the Duke in the Wimbledon hierarchy.
A spokesperson for Wimbledon said: ‘They will let us know when the change happens. We will just be told. Until we hear otherwise I can only assume the Duke will hand out prizes as usual.’
I bet the Duke of Kent will get to pass out the trophies this year and following Wimbledon (or at this year’s Wimbledon), Kate will be announced as the new patron. But what do you want to bet that Kate will find the “work” too dreary and stuffy by 2017? I mean, being patron of the club means she would have to attend more tennis matches, including all of the finals. And people would “expect” her to hand out the trophies. We know Kate doesn’t do well when people “expect” things from her – remember how Kate refused to pass out shamrocks to the Irish Guards this year? Her press office told media outlets that she didn’t want people to expect her to do it every year. As soon as “watching tennis matches” becomes a job, she’ll find some way to avoid it. Maybe that was the Queen’s plan all along! But I do feel sorry for the Duke of Kent. He really loved his role during Wimbledon.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Pacific Coast News.
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