The Princess of Wales has revealed how she feels about the reaction to a royal first that she’s just chalked up.
Kate said the reaction to her Three Peaks challenge had left her feeling ”blown away”.
The admission came as she took part in the ‘Overheard at Wimbledon’ series that is running on social media throughout the competition.
She also spoke about the importance of carrying out the challenge for the Royal Marsden Hospital.
The royal conversation took place during her visit to the Championships last week. Kate arrived on day four of the tournament and started off by posing for selfies with people waiting to get in before helping to scan tickets to get people into the famous grass courts.
The Princess of Wales was heard chatting to Tim Henman, the former British Number One and multiple semi finalist at Wimbledon. Together, they watched the second round match involving Britain’s Arthur Fery who beat Otto Virtanen in four sets. Just days later, Fery won a place in the semi finals himself. He’s the first British wild card to reach the last four in the Open Era.
Kate’s video was released just hours before Fery took to Centre Court to play ninth seed Flavio Cobolli who he beat in straight sets.
Queen Camilla watched the famous win, joining a standing ovation for Fery and remaining on her feet while he gave his post match interview.
Earlier, The Queen had surprised Fery and Cobolli by popping over to say hello to them as they prepared to step on to Centre Court. She was on her way to the Royal Box when she spotted them and went over to wish them both well.
After the match, which gives Fery a semi final against world number two, Alexander Zverev, Queen Camilla spoke to him again with the 23 year old appearing almost overcome by the huge wave of attention heading his way.
Arthur Fery produced the performance of his career to book a sensational place in the Wimbledon semi-finals, defeating ninth seed Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-0 in front of an ecstatic Centre Court crowd. The British wildcard continued his remarkable fairytale run with a display of fearless shot-making, composure and relentless intensity that left his higher-ranked opponent with few answers.
Fery made the brighter start, breaking serve in the opening set before maintaining his advantage with confident serving and aggressive baseline play. Cobolli responded strongly in the second set, but Fery refused to be rattled, saving key moments before producing an excellent tie-break to move within one set of the last four.
Any hopes of a Cobolli comeback disappeared in the third set as Fery elevated his game even further. Roared on by a partisan home crowd, the 23-year-old raced through the set without dropping a game, sealing victory with a dominant 6-0 finish that underlined his growing confidence on the sport’s biggest stage.
The victory marks another historic milestone for the Wimbledon wildcard, who entered the Championships ranked outside the world’s top 100 and had never previously advanced beyond the second round of a Grand Slam. His stunning run has made him only the second men’s wildcard in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals. The last was Goran Ivanisevic who went on to win the contest. The victory for Arthur Fery also ensred he becomes the last British player standing in the singles draw.
Speaking after the match, Fery credited his belief and determination for his breakthrough fortnight, insisting he has always trusted his ability despite entering the tournament as an outsider. His reward is a blockbuster semi-final against second seed Alexander Zverev, with British fans now daring to dream that one of the most unlikely Wimbledon stories in recent memory could yet have an even more remarkable ending.
And if he does reach the final, the Princess of Wales will be on hand to see him play as she presents the trophies at the Men’s and Women’s Singles finals.
