09 May 2024 , 10:23
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The family of the Princess of Wales are mourning the death of a close family friend whose son was a star tennis player.
Kate's family, particularly her parents Carole and Michael, were said to have been close to Tony Henman, the father of former British tennis number one Tim Henman, who reportedly died on Friday at the age of 84. Mr Henman and his wife Jane were guests at Prince William and Kate's wedding at Westminster Abbey back in 2011. The two couples had been seen together at Wimbledon over the years after the Middletons struck up a friendship with the former solicitor and his wife.
Tim Henman's parents Tony and Jane watching his Wimbledon semi final in 2001 against Goran Ivanisevic (PA)According to the Daily Mail, Mrs Henman offered Carole advice on how to contend with high levels of publicity that they had both been subjected to thanks to their well-known children and eventually became tennis doubles partners. In recent years when Kate has visited Wimbledon, Tim, who was a semi-finalist at the All-England club four times, was seen sitting with the princess. The Middletons, including Kate and her sister Pippa, are all known to be huge tennis fans and have all been regulars at SW19 over the years.
But one year, Kate revealed she was left "mortified" after her dad Michael was involved in an embarrassing mix-up. Kate revealed the cringeworthy story in a 2017 BBC documentary called Our Wimbledon presented by sports host Sue Barker.
She told Sue how her dad tried to play it cool in front of the former British number one tennis player Tim. Kate explained: "My father is not going to appreciate this, but we were walking past Tim Henman and we had just seen [Pete] Sampras play. My dad said very coolly: 'Hi Pete'. I was mortified!"
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Kate with Tim at Wimbledon back in 2021 (PA)
Kate at Wimbledon last year (Getty Images)The sad news comes as Kate continues her recovery following her cancer diagnosis earlier this year. Today, her husband William is making his first official visit to the Isles of Scilly since becoming Duke of Cornwall.
William will carry out engagements in Newquay today and then on the Isles of Scilly tomorrow.On Thursday he will visit the site where the Duchy of Cornwall’s first homeless housing project will be built, in Nansleden, Newquay.
The project, delivered alongside Cornish charity St Petrocs, will provide 24 homes with wraparound support for homeless people. William will meet the development’s leaders and the chief executive of St Petrocs, Henry Meacock. Construction will begin in September this year, and land for the homes is being provided by the Duchy. William will then visit Fistral beach, where he will meet organisations who take care of it.
On Friday, he will make his first official visit to the Isles of Scilly since becoming the Duke of Cornwall in September 2022. William will visit St Mary’s harbour, which is run by the Duchy, and handles passengers and vessels. He will spend time with harbour operators before paying a visit to St Mary’s Community Hospital.