Duchess Kate finally scored her dream job: patron of the All-England Club!

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At last year’s annual Buckingham Palace pre-Christmas lunch, the Queen and Prince Philip bum-rushed the Duchess of Cambridge and forced her to take on an additional patronage on the spot. They even made her do a photo-op for the patronage, which was for the Air Cadets. That was one of Philip’s long-standing patronages, and as Philip and the Queen are getting up in years, they’ve started editing their patronage portfolios, passing along patronages to their kids, grandkids and in-laws. Well, funny story: Kate was once again assigned a new patronage at Tuesday’s pre-Christmas lunch at BP. This is one we’ve already heard about though: Kate will be taking over the Queen’s patronage of the All-England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, aka Wimbledon. We first heard about this months ago, but it was just made official this week.

Queen Elizabeth is easing her workload — ever so slightly! The monarch is capping off a landmark year that saw her turn 90 by passing on some of her patronages to other members of the royal family. Of the more than 600 causes and organizations that she’s associated with, the Queen is retiring from 25. A royal source tells PEOPLE that this is an “organic shift” to pass along the patronages to share the workload. It follows a precedent that occurred when the Duke of Edinburgh turned 90, Buckingham Palace says.

A statement said, “Her Majesty has enjoyed a close and active association with a great number of [the patronages] throughout her reign. Her Majesty will continue to serve as Patron to hundreds of charities and institutions but will now share this work with her family. Many of the organizations listed below already have other Members of the Royal Family as Vice-Patrons or Presidents which will ensure a smooth transition.”

Tennis fan Princess Kate will take over as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, which runs the Wimbledon championships, the organization announced. And sports-loving Prince Harry is set to be patron of the Rugby Football Union. Most of the other patronages (including Save the Children UK, Animal Health Trust, Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children’s Fund) have yet to announce who will take over for the Queen, but they are likely to be members of the family who are already associated with them.

Kate is a natural fit to take over Wimbledon. She’s a keen player (she and Prince William have a court at home at Anmer Hall!) and she is a regular attendee at the championships.

When reports first surfaced that she might take over at the All England Club, she got an enthusiastic backing from champion Andy Murray’s mother, Judy. Speaking at an event where she joined Kate in Edinburgh, Scotland, in February, she said it would be “a huge thing for tennis and for women’s sport. It’s very clear she loves tennis, both watching and playing, and that can only be good for the sport.”

Kate could also take over royal duties at Action for Children, although the charity, which thanked the Queen for her “invaluable support,” cannot yet confirm. But Kate carried out a moving visit to one of their centers in 2015. William is likely to be confirmed as royal patron of the Welsh Rugby Union, as he is already closely involved as vice-patron.

[From People]

As I said months ago, when this was a well-sourced rumor, this will likely be Kate’s favorite patronage ever. You can’t get the duchess to show up more than once a year for most of her patronages, but come hell or high water, she’ll find a way to make it to a few matches at Wimbledon. She’s been angling for this for years. Of course, maybe this is all a high-level scheme by the Queen. As soon as Kate thinks “going to Wimbledon” is “work,” then suddenly she’ll find a way to avoid it. Maybe that was the point?

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Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News.

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102 Responses to “Duchess Kate finally scored her dream job: patron of the All-England Club!”

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  1. Alix says:

    Don’t you mean her “dream sinecure”?

  2. Ayra. says:

    Being her must be soo exhausting.

    • Olenna says:

      Yeah, and apparently Katie’s ‘head movies’ of becoming a princess turned out to be a lot more challenging than what she imagined. I think she is really struggling with reality.

  3. LadyMTL says:

    I just can’t stop laughing at the visual of the Queen and Prince Philip bum-rushing anyone. It would probably be the world’s slowest rush, lolol.

    • Joy says:

      That is actually a great visual.

    • PGrant's Girl says:

      Or it would be like Yoda in the Attack of the Clones light saber duel with Count Dooku. (That was just on TV a couple nights ago, which is why it’s in my mind!) Yoda is a million years old and walks with a cane, but he whips out that light saber and suddenly he’s a crazy acrobat!

  4. Digital Unicorn (aka Betti) says:

    Well, she needs something to bump up those abysmal numbers. Urgh, i love watching it on the telly but if the Middleton mugs are going to be all over it then i might start listening it on the radio. You KNOW the entire Middleton Mafia will decamp in the royal box for the 2 weeks every year.

    PS. Are you going to cover the Fail article comparing Waity and Meghan? Its quite the passive aggressive burn the Fail is famous for. It reads like it was lifted from these boards.

    • Chrissy says:

      Ugh! It would be great if the HM told her that the Midds could not sit in the Royal Box. If they don’t want to piss off the plebs even more, this needs to happen. The Middleton Mafia (love the moniket!) are already seen as social-climbing leeches and them being there would make it worse IMO. After all, they shouldn’t be profitting from their royal connections, should they?

      • Megan says:

        The royal box was created by the tennis club to accommodate all royalty, not just the BRF, and they are the ones who issue the invitations to the box. I suspect the Midds will be at the top of the guest list if they want Kate to show up.

  5. Jenn4037 says:

    Or this will be what she annually trots out to show that she is hardworking… by spending two weeks at Wimbledon.

  6. Anitas says:

    I agree some of the criticism and speculation about her is downright petty and mean. But I also think if she were to put half as much effort into her contribution to society as she does into her appearance, people would be a lot less irritated by her. When she spends more time getting a perfect blowout than she does with a charity she’s supposedly promoting, that’s when it gets ridiculous.

    ETA The original comment seems to have disappeared now…

    • Belle Epoch says:

      How can she put so much time into her appearance but always look the same? I don’t follow fashion very closely but it seems like she is always wearing a round collar something with a belted waist. Am I the only person who is bored?

  7. Nic919 says:

    I feel like when I see the word “keen” in any article that we are being trolled. Kate is the least keen person on earth.

  8. Lainey says:

    Does anyone know what the Patronage actually entitles or is showing up the whole just of it? She won’t be handing out trophies- that’s the duke of Kents job.
    And I fail to see how this will impact women’s sport. She’s doing nothing but watching matches and what possibly meeting people behind the scenes as well.

  9. Katydid04 says:

    Call me cynical, but I still see her half-***ing this patronage as well. We’ll be lucky to see her at a few matches a year.

    • Megan says:

      Yeah, I don’t see Kate showing up to hand out the trophies. And she won’t go every year because she doesn’t like to set expectations.

    • Chrissy says:

      Well, we know she doesn’t watch any women’s matches, so seeing her at any would be a change. We’ve only really seen her at semi-final/ finals in men’s tennis. Does having a patronage also mean participating in planning meetings or anything that could be considered work?

  10. Seraphina says:

    To be honest I can’t speculate what QE is thinking. I would have thought she would have made these too twits tow the line by now but alas that isn’t so. And Ma Middleton is still a prominent feature in their relationship.

    Just so sad she has so much power and the world to hear her and it’s like she is tone deaf and dumb. She just sits there like A puppet with no life and no thought of her own. Not doing anything worthwhile but spending money on clothes. Ma Middleton won’t even push her out there. But she did push her out there to show Wills what he was missing when they broke up repeatedly.

    • Digital Unicorn (aka Betti) says:

      There is some power games going on behind the scenes at KP. For every pro Harry/Meghan article that appears in the US, its followed by a pro Carole story (with leaks about the Cambridges woven in). A certain family is NOT happy with Harry’s relationship with Meghan.

      • TheOtherOne says:

        Do you think the Middletons are not happy with Harry & Meghan? I did notice the Fail is no longer pushing its three articles about her from YESTERDAY, namely one articke where her fathers first wife refutes the claims that M is a horrible person but instead “classy.” The family tree is confusing but I believe she is the mother of the daughter/M’s sister who spoke so harshly about her.

        Though it is understandable why the Middletons are worried. And I am conflicted about Kate. On hand I feel sorry for her because this probably not the life she signed up for but at the same time she has no motivation or ambition to do anything.

      • Bridget says:

        I think the Middletons are unhappy with a few things right now. They’ve attached themselves to William’s rather tarnished star, and seem threatened by any interloper. The Middletons try to play press games instead of letting things play out organically, but are ham fisted at it. And I’ve thought for a while the Kate seems incredibly detached and unhappy. While she’s beginning to earn the consequences for a bad work ethic, I do also think that there’s something else going on with her.

      • Original T.C. says:

        I think the Middleton are playing with fire. Liz is no fool. They think they can manipulate The Queen like they did William. Keeping the kids away from her and the public is going to backfire on them big time. Out of sight, out of mind.

        If Harry and his girlfriend get engaged, they will be all over international news. And if they get married and have children, the Queen and Charles will be given free access to those kids whenever they want. Guess who is going to be the new fav of the queen and the press? Add the Obama’s stopping over to do tea with Harry or to help with wounded soldiers work…,

      • burnsie says:

        Why would Kate be threatened by Meghan though? I’m not a Kate fan; but she’s married to a future king and gave birth to a future king.

        Not saying you’re wrong about Kate feeling threatened btw, just that I don’t understand why, if she is

      • Digital Unicorn (aka Betti) says:

        @burnsie – Kate likes to be Queen Bee and she has been QB with the Wales brothers for a very long time, plus she loves the press attention and always has. She will not like sharing the spotlight with someone else. Kate was always felt threatened by any other woman around Wills, something that can be attributed to his cheating.

      • Bridget says:

        It’s not a logical fear, but the Middletons seem to insecure in general that this is seemingly the response to other prominent women. Who knows – maybe they worry that there’s only a certain amount of attention to go around, or what they dislike the most about others is what they dislike the most in themselves.

    • Bridget says:

      William and by extension Kate are everything that is wrong with royalty/aristocracy. William grew up in such a protected bubble with every mistake he made carefully managed and cleaned up. I doubt he’s heard a word of honest criticism in his life until recently. His wealth and position has cushioned him from everything, and now the end result is this idiot, and his wife who seems quite happy to follow suit.

  11. suze says:

    I won’t snark, it’s a good fit for her.

  12. Megan says:

    Dear People Magazine, “Princess” Kate will never be Princess Diana so please give up on that fantasy and refer to her by her correct title.

    • Digital Unicorn (aka Betti) says:

      Diana was never actually a Princess either. And Kate will be a Princess by title when William becomes Prince of Wales when his father becomes King. Kate will get Diana’s title, Princess of Wales. She and the Middletons will be insufferable when that happens.

      • Seraphina says:

        Digital Unicorn, can you even fathom to imagine the look on Carole’s face????

        Insufferable

      • Megan says:

        I meant she will never be Princess Diana as in she will never have a big career, she will never wear great clothes, and she will never be loved by Americans the way Di was.

      • LaMaitresse says:

        If it even lasts that long, I really don’t think it will. I thought this little job was given to darling Waity last year? Oh well our wonderful non industrious girl will do the bare minimum, bare being the operative word with plenty of biscuit flashing in silly floaty dresses in this role. Shame, the Duke of Kent is such an icon at Wimbledon, I love seeing him, silly I know….

      • Tough Cookie says:

        Not a “blood princess” but Diana was The Princess of Wales and later, after the divorce, Diana, Princess of Wales. And Waity is technically Princess William of Wales, am I right? Is that where People magazine gets the idea to refer to her as Princess Kate? Because I think it makes us Americans look even dumber.

    • burnsie says:

      +1 Megan, People needs to stop trying to make Princess Kate happen

  13. TheOtherOne says:

    I agree with Kaiser. This is the setup before the fall. Give Wills and Kate what they want; watch them eff it up and then force them to resign/give up the throne. And in my spiteful head, this has Charles written all over. You don’t have Phillip as a father and wait 100 years (give or take) to be King without learning how to take down someone publicly while keeping your hands clean. I call it here first: this is the setup before the fall.

    • Seraphina says:

      I don’t know. Deliberately taking down the future heir and put Harry in his place to save the Firm????? That would be some pretty hard core Machiavellian chess playing.

      But it will be interesting to watch.

    • Mamunia says:

      God, I hope you are right.

    • Digital Unicorn (aka Betti) says:

      I agree that an epic fall from grace is coming for these 2 (and the Middletons) and Charles may have a hand in it but it is his son after all so i don’t think he will all out go to bring him down. The Middletons, now thats another story.

      This is Duke and Duchess of Windsor history repeating itself with these 2 – David was forced to abdicate by the Gov as he was a weak King who not only refused to do his duties (he famously ignored the red box and its contents for weeks on end) he was an open supporter of Nazi Germany and having some sort of alliance with them. He was also a proponent of the working man and often spoke of how the gov could do more to improve working conditions – all in all he was seen as a serious troublemaker in turbulent times (just look at the news today – a world war is a coming). He and William are very very similar in temperament and attitude – William is a treat not only to the Monarchy but to the country, he’s sneaky and has very right wing political attitudes. He’s a braggart that would easily spill state secrets and who knows what Uncle Gary would do with the info with his crim/underworld contacts.

    • Chrissy says:

      I hope so. This is getting painful to watch. OTOH, seeing the faces of the oh-so-smug Middletons when the hammer falls will be very sweet.

      • ArtHistorian says:

        The Middletons should brush up on their history, particularly the Wydevilles and Boleyns. Granted, it is a few centuries back but overly grasping, pushy in-laws have never been popular – neither with the royals they seek to exploit nor the general populace. I actually think that they hurt Kate’s public image (and possibly her standing within the RF) by being so obviously grasping, especially with the courting of the media.

      • Chrissy says:

        I agree with you ArtHistorian but Kate doesn’t make it easy on herself what with her being unnaturally dependent on her mother for everything. She is, after all, a married woman in her mid-thirties with a family of her own. If she was seen as an independent, hard-working woman and not just a flighty and boring waste of a very expensive education, the Midds wouldn’t be in the picture so much while making her and William looks so bad.

  14. Meow says:

    So sick of her face with its chunky faux-brows. Someone please, please take her crayons off her and do her makeup properly. She used to be lovely pre-William and she now looks like a pantomime villainess.

    The crazy toothy gurning doesn’t help.

  15. JustME says:

    I don’t have high hopes for the British monarchy after QE is gone.

  16. Tourmaline says:

    Ooh in the last pic up there we have an alarming closeup of William’s bulgy bulge.

  17. AfricanBoy says:

    Sometimes I ask myself if Kate regrets marrying William .. I think she would be happier if she had married a guy like Ben Ainslie.

    • pleaseicu says:

      Kate’s probably looking at the life her sister is about to lead and kicking herself. Pippa gets a man who isn’t ashamed of her or always looking elsewhere for something better and just keeping her around until that better something comes along, a partner who wants to spend time with her, decorating/exercising/lunching/shopping to her hearts content, no expectation of work or philanthropy, no public criticism of what she does or doesn’t do, and endless streams of money to spend as she wishes. Doesn’t come with the a title or anything but I’m sure the endless money is a comfortable trade off.

      • Tourmaline says:

        I’ve thought the same thing. I actually think Kate’s enthusiasm about her royal role took a huge nosedive once she had kids. She probably looks at the toff mums in her social circle and is jealous that they have all the perks of wealth and status and none of the expectations–because if its one thing Kate (and William) doesn’t like, it is expectations. Unfortunately, being the future Queen is not something one can drop in favor of being a stay-at-home mum.

      • maria says:

        I totally agree with you.

      • Chrissy says:

        Yes, Pippa is having the last laugh.

      • Kitty says:

        @Tourmaline, Kate makes being a royal look so boring but with Diana it looked fun and interesting!

      • Natalie S says:

        Kate aimed too high. She would have been happier with someone with an Alex Loudon level of financial success.

  18. Maria says:

    It will give her an excuse for a Wimbledon wardrobe which will cost thousands of pounds. I mean so many people watch Wimbledon, she can’t very well on old recycled outfits. Geez!!!

  19. Mrs.Curious says:

    I bet Carole was delighted when she heard this news.

  20. weegiewarrior says:

    I find th fact that they call these patronages work an insult to evryone who goes out evry day and works- a lot of them for a pittance and could only ever dream of getting th best seats in th house for wimbledon or th football or rugby…i have great respect for th queen but am so sick of th arrogance of william especially and his lazy wife – even harrys starting to grate with his constant whinging about press intrusion – but its ok when he wants to look like th good guy…ther is no gratitude for the life of privilege they lead – or any sense of duty – thers no way harry woud hav a gf like meghan markle if he was Ginge from Croyden….

  21. maria says:

    I’d like to know what’s Kate doing all day long. Would be “interesting” to spend a week with her.

  22. Fluff says:

    It’s on the news that the Queen is ill and not going to Sandringham (hopefully she will go later). Hope it’s not serious!

  23. Cerys says:

    This is an ideal patronage for Kate as she only needs to turn up once a year, grin manically and wear a new frock. as others have said, now that Wimbers is going to be classed as work maybe she won’t enjoy it so much.

  24. Jade says:

    Why does Wimbledon need a patron? Don’t they get enough coverage?

  25. PHAKSI says:

    She looks quite pretty in these pictures. What year was this?

  26. seesittellsit says:

    That dress with the veggies on it is heinous, and if you enlarge the photo, her skin is shocking.

  27. sage says:

    This is a patronage she should excel at!

  28. Kitty says:

    She just doesn’t have charisma or a magnetic charm whatsoever. I think as well all are at fault think Kate would be the next Diana.

    • Meow says:

      I remember people writing Diana off as stupid – she was Einstein compared to Her Royal Thickness Waity Katie.

  29. Joannie says:

    If given the opportunity I’m guessing most would want to be a stay at home Mom when their kids were very young and yet Kate gets slated on here every day for it. When those kids are older you will see her doing more work. Give her a break. Some of the comments are really nasty and complete bullshit to make yourself feel better.

    • Lady D says:

      She did nothing for 11 years, pre-kid. NOTHING. You’re only fooling yourself if you think that is going to change.

    • graymatters says:

      I think the timing of the criticism of Kate is interesting. There was some during her girlfriend years. Some people asked what she did all day — to the point, apparently, that HM joined in — but since she was just a gf few people particularly cared. With the engagement, the press exaggerated her work history, emphasized her beauty and longevity of romantic relationship with Will, and promised that with her education she would surely “hit the ground running.” When that didn’t pan out, people began to grumble. It didn’t seem to be many people, and it wasn’t very loud, but when she started talking about “maternity leave” before G was born, the response, “from what” stuck. And that’s when the grumblers got momentum.

      If Kate had done more with her time before G, she would have been allowed the maternity leave. She would have probably even been praised for it. It doesn’t help that W seems to do as little as possible and not particularly well, either. People seem to be more comfortable complaining about Common Kate than Royal Will, so she gets some of his criticism.

      If she does, in fact, do more — a lot more — work (and better) when her kids are school age, the criticism will largely subside. She’ll still come in for celebrity-bashing style comments on her clothes, hair, makeup, etc. but the sting will be gone.

      • Digital Unicorn (aka Betti) says:

        Kate got a lot of criticism during the on/off GF years – it was the press that called her Waity Katie. The press only started backing off a bit when her mother made a point of cosying up to Paul Dacre – Editor in Chief of the Daily Mail, that was also when they started ripping Chelsy apart to make Kate look good (i.e. Chelsy was the party girl and Kate the studious one).

        The Middletons and Kate made a faustian deal with the press – the chickens are coming home to roost. Once Kate got the ring, they turned on the press like a pack of hungry wolves. Make no mistake the press played a big part in keeping that relationship going and she was not his official GF (as the press made her out to be per Carole’s instructions), she was his on and off booty call. The nickname came from the fact that she did nothing but wait around for him to call and then go off running – the stories were well documented before the engagement whitewash.

        Kate behaves like a celebrity as she thought thats would life would be as a Royal – she wants to be a celebrity but even celebs have had to work hard to get and keep that fame. Something the special snowflake has failed to understand.

      • Kitty says:

        @Digital, didn’t he as well cheat on her many times?

      • Digital Unicorn (aka Betti) says:

        ^ Yes, during the time he was ‘on’ with her which was usually between other women. As soon as he’d found someone else he’d not call her.

    • Meow says:

      Hi Carole!!

    • Original T.C. says:

      I know MANY stay at home Moms who do more charity work, volunteer work, teaching assistance work at their kids school in ONE year than Kate has ever done in her 30plus years on earth combined. With .00000001% of the money and help Kate gets.

      It’s actually insulting of you to assume stay at home Moms are as lazy as Kate. They work hard. Kate’s been lazy and spoiled her whole life. The other things she’s ever worked for is to win William and to stay stick thin.

    • Tourmaline says:

      I think you’re incorrect I disagree that most of us are desperately longing to be a stay at home mom and therefore so jealously and miserably begrudging it of Kate. I’m quite proud of working to support my family actually. Not to mention that Kate has a full panoply of nannies and staff that should neatly enable her to get her butt out the door more than her few hours per month average “work rate”.

    • lobbit says:

      I don’t know that much will change once her kids are older, but I don’t fault her at all for wanting to muck about the English countryside with them while she can. I’d probably do it too, if given the chance.

      But tbh I just sort of giggle at much of the Lazy-Katy criticisms because very, very little of what these Royals do counts as “work” imo. I like when they use their platform to promote issues vital to public health (poverty, AID awareness, etc.) But generally speaking, all the flesh pressing, ribbon-cuttings, and photo ops are an elaborate dog and pony show to me, and I’m just not fussed about who does or doesn’t do it.

    • PHAKSI says:

      Hi Carole or paid troll from KP. I imagine its not Pippa, she’s too busy planning her wedding and her new life with terribly rich james

  30. Bitchy says:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Edward,_Duke_of_Kent#Activities

    He also serves as the president of the Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, a position in which he succeeded his late mother, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent.

    ???????

    • Tourmaline says:

      President and Patron are two different roles at Wimbledon. Queen Elizabeth was the Patron (until she gave it to Kate), and that is a different role than what the Duke of Kent has as President. Not sure what his role entails though…

  31. JustBitchy says:

    Digital Unicorn/Betti, LAK and Kaiser
    Will Kate get an appearance check mark for each set at Wimbledon? 😜😜😜😜😜

  32. Starlight says:

    No excuses whatsoever not to show up then