Kate Middleton takes Princess Charlotte to Wimbledon finals to overcome guilt

Princess Kate honoured a longstanding promise to Princess Charlotte by bringing her to the Wimbledon men’s final, according to a royal expert. 

The patron of the All England Tennis Club received enthusiastic applause during her appearance, which comes as she continues her preventative cancer treatment. All eyes were on her as she debuted in a purple dress with Charlotte by her side.

Bringing her daughter—rather than her sons—to this major sporting event was not a last-minute decision. Royal commentator and author Ingrid Seward noted that the Princess of Wales, feeling "guilty," was fulfilling a promise she made to her daughter.

Ms Seward told The Sun : "It was a long held promise that Kate would take Charlotte to the finals as a special treat. Kate felt guilty she hadn’t been able to spend as much time as she would have liked to be with the kids because of her exhaustion after her treatment."

As the patron of the All England club, the Princess is typically responsible for presenting the trophy to competition winners, but she has been largely absent from public life in recent months following abdominal surgery in which doctors discovered traces of cancer. 

Since she started receiving preventative treatment in March, she has only appeared at Trooping the Colour - the King's official birthday - in June.

She stood on the Buckingham Palace balcony with Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis during the traditional flypast on June 15. 

She chose to appear with family again today, with Ms Seward suggesting her young daughter would "deflect" any attention that may come her way.

She said: "Charlotte is there to deflect things away from her too. Kate was determined to be at Wimbledon on finals day if she possibly could." 

The appearances at both Trooping the Colour and Wimbledon have been warmly received by commentators, who believe her debuts are indicative that her recovery is going as planned.