For more than a decade, Kate Middleton‘s annual appearances at the Wimbledon tennis championships in southwest London have provided fans with a highlight in the royal fashion calendar.
A passionate fan of the sport, Kate attended her first Wimbledon as a member of the royal family just weeks after her marriage to Prince William in April, 2011. The princess has attended nearly every year since and, in 2016, was rewarded for her commitment by being made patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) by Queen Elizabeth II.
As patron of the organization that hosts the championships each year, Kate has made an appearance on the famous Centre Court to present prizes to the winning players.
Since the 2017 tournament, the princess has worn a special accessory with each of her Wimbledon looks, a ribbon representing the colors of the AELTC.
Here, as Kate prepares to attend the 2023 championships which will be hosted from July 3 to July 16, Newsweek looks back at some of Kate’s Wimbledon fashion highlights.
2011âTemperley London
For her first Wimbledon as a member of the royal family, Kate attended a match between Great Britain’s Andy Murray and French player, Richard Gasquet, alongside Prince William.
For the occasion, Kate paid homage to the sport of tennis by wearing an all-white dress in pleated tiers from the designer brand, Temperley London.
Wimbledon, like many other tennis tournaments around the world, requires players to wear traditional “tennis whites,” though in recent years the rules have changed to allow some color to appear on court.
2012âAlexander McQueen
In 2012, Kate once again accompanied Prince William to watch a match at Wimbledon, this time wearing a nautical inspired knitted dress from the design team behind her wedding dress a year earlier, Alexander McQueen.
The princess paired the look with navy accessories and diamond and sapphire earrings that matched her engagement ring, which had once belonged to Princess Diana.
2014âZimmerman
After not attending the Wimbledon championships in 2013, owing to her pregnancy with Prince George in July that same year, Kate returned to the tennis courts in 2014, wearing another white ensemble.
Attending a match with Prince William, the princess wore a white dress with cut-out detail work by the brand Zimmerman. Kate had debuted the look earlier that year on a visit to Australia and paired the dress with nude high-heel pumps and a handbag from designer, Anya Hindmarch.
2016âRoksanda
To attend the sporting event in 2016, Kate wore a striking yellow dress with white contrast underarm panels from the womenswear brand, Roksanda.
To accessorize the look, Kate wore a pair of Wayfarer sunglasses from Ray-Ban and carried the Quincy handbag by British pop-star turned fashion designer, Victoria Beckham.
2017âDolce & Gabbana
For Wimbledon in 2017, Kate moved away from her simpler and more classic approach to dressing for the event and instead opted for a bold monochrome look in a polka dot print.
The princess wore a fit-and-flare silhouetted dress by Italian fashion designers, Dolce & Gabbana, and paired the look with the Victoria Beckham Quincy bag worn in 2016, and black-heeled sandals with an ankle strap by Office.
2018âJenny Packham
In 2018, Kate made the first of two visits to Wimbledon with her new sister-in-law, Meghan Markle.
For the occasion, Kate wore a bespoke dress by a favorite designer, Jenny Packham. The monochrome look featured a small-scale polka-dot print which from a distance resembled tennis balls.
2019âEmilia Wickstead
To present the Wimbledon cup to the men’s singles champion of Wimbledon in 2019, Kate made a striking impression in a classic fit-and-flare dress with pleated shoulder detailing designed by Emilia Wickstead.
The royal has worn a number of Wickstead’s designs in recent years and accessorized her 2019 look with the AELTC patron’s ribbon, and a vintage, beaded clutch bag.
2021âBeulah London
In 2021, Kate presented Novak Djokovic with the championship trophy after his defeat of Italian player Matteo Berrettini in the men’s singles finals.
For the event, the princess wore a delicate pink dress with quarter-length sleeves and a covered belt designed by the London-based brand, Beulah.
The princess has worn a number of Bulah looks over the course of her marriage including the brand’s signature printed dresses.
2022âRoksanda
During her most recent string of appearances at Wimbledon in 2022, Kate wore a striking yellow day dress from Roksanda London which made her instantly stand out among the crowds of spectators.
The princess first wore the dress, which featured an asymmetric twist detail and boxed shoulders, during a royal tour of the Caribbean earlier in the year and completed the Wimbledon look with her Wayfarer sunglasses and an oversized raffia sun hat.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek’s royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek’s The Royals Facebook page.
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