The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have arrived at Wimbledon with Prince George for the men’s singles final.
The royals have greeted ball boys and girls as well as Wimbledon staff in the Millennium building before crossing the bridge over cheering crowds into Centre Court.
They will be sitting in the royal box to watch Australian Nick Kyrgios play defending champion Novak Djokovic.
Kate, who is patron of the All England Club, looked summery in a navy blue skirt and matching top with white polka dots by designer Alessandra Rich.
The royals first greeted a group of military personnel who are working as stewards at the championship – Lt Col Lucy Smith from the Army, deputy assistant commissioner Philip Morton, from the London Fire Brigade, Lt Commander Chris Boucher from the Royal Navy and Sergeant Jacquie Crook from the Royal Air Force.
Kate asked them about their roles and how many championships they had worked at Wimbledon, to which one replied: “19 years”.
She then explained to George what the group members do, saying: “They look after everybody to make sure the crowds are safe and happy, doing the right thing, in the right seats, making sure the grounds are safe.”
When asked about George coming to Wimbledon, she said: “Is this your first time? It is, isn’t it?” to which he replied: “Yes”.
When asked why Charlotte was not there, she said: “It’s George’s treat today.”
George was also asked who he was going to support and appeared too shy to answer so William looked at him and whispered: “Djokovic” before adding: “We’ll see how long it lasts. He’ll support the winner.”
William then spoke to them about Kyrgios’ powerful serve and Djokovic’s experience in playing grand slam finals.
He added: “I think it’s going to be an electrifying spectacle.”
The royals then moved on to greet Dylan Mulvey, 13, from Wandsworth, who had been selected to do the coin toss as well as ball boys and girls Syed Arez, Dior Knorr and Amy Granger.
Kate explained to George that Dylan, who was nominated by St George’s Hospital in recognition of his fundraising efforts, would be kicking off the match, showing her son the coin that would be used in the toss.
She then said to the ball boys and girls: “I never know how you manage school and all the training that goes into it.”
Dylan later told the PA news agency that he was “really excited” when he found out he would be doing the coin toss.
They asked us about our training and how we had to get to this stage and had we found it fun— Amy Granger
“I knew I was just going to make my family really proud of me and that it was going to be an amazing experience,” he said.
On meeting the royals, he said: “It was good, it was really interesting, nice conversation. They were really nice people.”
Amy said she is feeling “energetic” adding: “Seeing the royals has been amazing.”
She said it was “so surreal”, adding: “It was really cool. I was quite nervous. They were really really nice, asked lots of questions.”
“They asked us about our training and how we had to get to this stage and had we found it fun.”
The duchess is expected to present the trophies to both the runner-up and the winner during a ceremony after the match.
The men’s singles match comes with a backdrop of controversy as Kyrgios faces charges for common assault against a former partner in Australia.
His wild journey to the final – featuring run-ins with line judges, umpires, opponents, the media and even the crowd – has prompted headlines such as “a menace to tennis” and “Wimbledon’s worst nightmare”, among others.
However, his opponent Djokovic said he was happy to see Kyrgios in the final after the Australian was given a walkover when Spaniard Rafael Nadal pulled out ahead of the semis due to an abdominal injury.
Kyrgios had not been beyond the fourth round at a grand slam for seven years prior to this tournament and has spoken openly about his mental struggles and reluctance to commit fully to the sport.
Serbian Djokovic, who knocked out British number one Cameron Norrie from the tournament on Thursday, said: “I think, between us players, we always know how dangerous he is, on grass particularly, because of his game, because of his attitude on the court being so confident, just going for it, being a very complete player.”
Kyrgios also spoke about Djokovic in a press conference after Nadal’s withdrawal, in which he said has developed a “bromance” with the defending champion over the last few months.
The 26-year-old said he thinks a “Kyrgios-Djokovic final would be mouth-watering”.
“You’ll never probably see anyone who just wins and just plays the game just so good as a winner than Djokovic,” he later added.
