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The Princess of Wales shared a personal message for tennis player Andy Murray as his Wimbledon career came to an end over the weekend. "An incredible #Wimbledon career comes to an end. You should be so very proud @andy_murray," Her Royal Highness penned on social media. "On behalf of all of us, thank you!" The royal signed the message off with a "C" for Catherine.
Andy was due to play mixed doubles with Emma Raducanu on July 6, but she ended up pulling out. Andy appeared emotional on July 4 as he spoke on Centre Court with Sue Barker after his final Wimbledon match.
"It's hard because I would love to keep playing, but I can't," he told Sue. "Physically, it's too tough now. All of the injuries, you know, they've added up and like I said, they haven't been insignificant."
"I want to play forever. I love this sport," Andy continued. "It's given me so much, taught me loads of lessons over the years I can use the rest of my life. But yeah, I don't want to stop, so it is hard."
Andy won his first Wimbledon title in 2013, and his second one in 2016. The Princess of Wales has been patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club since 2016.
Catherine, who has been undergoing preventative chemotherapy since late February, has not yet made an appearance at Wimbledon this year. All England Club chair Debbie Jevans has previously told Telegraph Sport that they're "hopeful" the Princess of Wales "will be able to present the trophies as the Club’s patron," but noted that Catherine's "health and recovery is the priority."
“We don’t know what we don’t know. All we’ve said is that we’ll work with her and give her as much flexibility as possible," Debbie said. “I don’t know who would present the trophies as an alternative – that’s something to consider nearer the time if necessary. We’re staying flexible. When we hear we’ll then think about what’s the right thing to do.”