It’s certainly true that the Princess of Wales has chosen a series of personal causes as she makes her return this year. In February alone, she joined a bus full of kindergarten pupils on a school trip to the National Portrait Gallery and met with prisoners on a mother and baby unit at HMP Styal. Trooping the Colour, Garter Day, and VE Day celebrations have all been top of Catherine’s list, and she may have considered Ascot to be a more personal engagement, where she was not representing a charity nor supporting the royal family.
Catherine has long been an Ascot staple, pictured here in 2023 with Princess Beatrice and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, at The Sandringham Stakes
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‘Ascot is more exhausting than it looks,’ Seward explained to the outlet. ‘It involves an early start, and there’s a long process of hair and make-up and getting the right outfit.’ With a Windsor Castle lunch followed by a ‘bumpy carriage ride where the whole world is looking at you’ on one of the hottest days in the year, Seward surmised that Catherine ‘probably simply didn’t feel up to it.’
Where might fans next catch a glimpse of Kate Middleton? The Princess is a regular in the royal box at Wimbledon, and with the world’s greatest tennis players descending upon SW19 ahead of the Grand Slam next week, it’s likely that Catherine, as Patron of the All England Club, will be centre stage on Centre Court. In the meantime, she will have been celebrating Prince William’s birthday – quietly, at home, perhaps – with Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.