Familiar faces. Duchess Kate was just a few rows from Tom Cruise at Wimbledon on Saturday, July 9, before she hit the court to present the players with their trophies.
The Duchess of Cambridge, 40, was spotted in the Royal Box in a bright yellow dress. She wore the Roksanda frock earlier this year while on the royal tour of the Caribbean with Prince William. Sitting over to her right and three rows back was Cruise.
The actor, 60, already spent some time with the royals earlier this year when Kate and William, 40, attended the Top Gun: Maverick premiere in London. The Mission: Impossible star was seen helping the St Andrews University alum up the stairs into the theater. The black-tie screening was also a fundraiser for The Film and TV Charity, which supports crew members working on U.K.-based TV and film productions.
“[Prince William and I] have a lot in common. We both love England and we’re both aviators, we both love flying,” Cruise told reporters ahead of the royals’ arrival.
In addition to the Jerry Maguire actor, Ellie Goulding, who performed at William and Kate’s 2011 wedding reception, was spotted in the crowd. Downton Abbey star Maggie Smith and Killing Eve actress Jodie Comer were also in attendance at the match.
However, the duchess couldn’t just hang with the celebs at Wimbledon as she had duties on the court.
Kate presented trophies to Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur. Rybakina became the new Ladies’ Singles Champion after winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, earning the Rosewater Dish. This is the first time a tennis player from Kazakhstan has won a Grand Slam singles championship, and Rybakina is the youngest player to score the Rosewater trophy since 2011.
For the future Queen Consort, Wimbledon is an exciting annual event that she started attending long before marrying the Duke of Cambridge.
“I have watched Wimbledon, that was very much part of my growing up,” she explained in the 2017 BBC documentary Sue Barker: Our Wimbledon via Vogue. “It’s such a quintessential part of the English summer, and I think it really inspires youngsters, myself, it inspired me when I was younger to get involved in the game. It hasn’t changed either, I think that’s what’s so wonderful.”
Her royal patronages include All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (which organizes Wimbledon), the Lawn Tennis Association (which promotes tennis throughout the U.K.), and SportsAid (which offers financial assistance to rising athletes).
Earlier this month, Kate was spotted enjoying matches with her husband while her parents, Carole Middleton and Michael Middleton, watched from a few rows behind her. She was seen blowing a kiss to her parents at the Tuesday, July 5 match.
Scroll down to see photos of Duchess Kate and Cruise at Saturday’s match.
