William and Kate arrive at Wimbledon as Cameron Norrie heads into quarter-finals
The duchess, who was wearing a blue dress with white polka dots and pearl earrings, blew a kiss to the crowd as she took her seat in the royal box.
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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have arrived at Wimbledon as Britain’s Cameron Norrie heads into the quarter-finals.
Kate, who is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) which organises the grand slam tournament, waved as she crossed the bridge from the Millennium Building into Centre Court.
The duchess, who is wearing a blue dress with white polka dots and pearl earrings, later blew a kiss to the cheering crowd as she took her seat next to William in the royal box.
Both Kate and William put on sunglasses as play started between defending champion Novak Djokovic and Italian Jannik Sinner.
Kate smiled to William after a tense rally won by the Italian player, which sparked tense “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd before a huge wave of applause.
The duke and duchess were joined by the duchess’ parents Michael and Carole Middleton, who was wearing a white floral dress.
Comedian David Walliams was also seen speaking to his mother Kathleen in the royal box during the match.
Meanwhile, worldwide web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Olympic gold medallist Sir Ben Ainslie are also expected in the royal box.
Camilla Richardson, 39, from Somerset, who was watching the match with her daughter Romy, seven, said it was “very exciting” to see the duke and duchess.
Smiling at her daughter, she said: “Romy has never seen them before.”
Speaking to the atmosphere, she said: “It gives a bit of a royal buzz.”
Meanwhile, Piotr Pawlak, 20, from Warsaw in Poland, who came to the tournament with his friend, Polish player and 2012 Wimbledon singles finalist Agnieszka Radwanska, said Kate and Wills’ appearance came as a surprise.
He said: “I didn’t know. It is really nice to see the famous people sitting watching tennis next to us.”
Mr Pawlak added that he was also “excited” to watch Sinner and Djokovic play.
Rina Dhillan, 53, from near Cambridge, who is also watching the match in Centre Court, said she spotted the duke and duchess in the royal box and told her friends: “Look, Kate and Wills are here.”
“She is patron of Wimbledon, her presence definitely helps, so it was great to see her and it was nice to see the both of them together,” Ms Dhillan added.
“They are definitely an excitement.”
It comes as Norrie, who is the last team GB singles player left in the tournament, is set to face Belgium’s David Goffin on No 1 court on Tuesday afternoon.
Great Britain’s Alicia Barnett and Jonny O’Mara will also be returning to the grass courts on Tuesday in the mixed doubles.
Excitement has been building among British tennis fans as people lined up in the queue outside the ground in the early morning sunshine in the hopes of watching Norrie and to “get behind the atmosphere”.
A group of five Nottingham university medical students said they had skipped classes to cheer on the British player, shouting: “Go Norrie” in unison in the queue.
Hanna Ord, 21, said: “We thought the sun was shining, and we couldn’t think of a better way to spend the day than drinking Pimms in the sun.”
Charlotte Kilpatrick, 21, added: “I’m really excited to see Cameron Norrie in his quarter-finals today.
“We are fans,” she laughed.
“I’ve been sat in the library watching tennis on my phone.”
Their friend Esme Bliss, 22, said she wanted to join the “very British day” with “lots of queues, lots of strawberries, lots of Pimms and then obviously Cam Norrie as a Brit”.
Jill Dutton, from Wolverhampton, who had joined the queue with her family to celebrate her 70th birthday, said they were looking forward to watching Norrie.
She said: “We’re on No.1 Court and he’s playing on No.1 Court today so we’re looking forward to it.
“I hope he wins! Last British man standing,” she added, saying they also want to see the doubles matches.
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