After being the toast of Wimbledon... Kate's being courted by another prestigious tennis club

By Katie Nicholl


She was the toast of Wimbledon when she attended this year’s championships – but now the Duchess of Cambridge is being courted by another of the country’s most prestigious tennis clubs.

Queen’s Club in West London has offered Kate and Prince William honorary memberships worth close to £14,000 each, which they have accepted.

It costs £1,775 to join Queen’s and new members are required to buy a redeemable £12,000 share in the club which, I am told, is keen to appoint sporty Kate as patron once the 65-year-old Duchess of Gloucester steps down from the role.

Kate’s sister Pippa is already a paying member of the 125-year-old club and sources say officials have asked her for advice on how to approach the subject.

‘The board have made Kate an honorary member and they would like her to be an ambassador for the club,’ says a source.

‘There is talk of making her a patron once the Duchess of Gloucester steps down.

‘Pippa is very well known and liked at the club so some of the senior board members are speaking to her about how to approach Kate and raise the issue.’

The 29-year-old Duchess, who plays tennis regularly, is currently considering which charities and patronages to take on, and she is keen to be affiliated with a sport.

Meanwhile, executives at Wimbledon are eager for Kate to have an official role there.

The Duke of Kent is currently President of the All England Club and presents trophies to the winners.

‘Queen’s officials are hopeful that they can secure Kate before Wimbledon manage to appoint her in an official capacity,’ adds the source.

‘Kate loves the club and often plays there with Pippa.’
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It’s not just Kate who has some big decisions to make in the New Year.

While she ponders which charities to work with, Prince William has to decide whether to stay with the RAF or take on full-time Royal duties.

The Aegon Championships were held at Queen's Club tennis court in June

The Duke of Cambridge speaking at a fundraising gala evening in aid of the Child Bereavement Charity

The 29-year-old Prince is hoping to be promoted to captain and stay on for the full six-year term of service once his training period with Search and Rescue finishes – but it will be down to his superiors.

‘William wants to remain in the RAF and has the full support of both his grandmother and his father,’ an aide says.
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Six months after the Royal Wedding, Pippa Middleton is finally letting her hair down.

Kate’s younger sister was spotted running through the corridors while celebrating a friend’s engagement at the Bluebird restaurant in Chelsea.

Demure: Pippa at the charity dinner at Bluebird restaurant in Chelsea

‘The party was so loud it was almost shut down,’ says a source.

‘At one stage Pippa and her pals mistakenly ran into the function room next door and erupted into loud giggling, which went down like a lead balloon with the banking execs who were meeting there.’

Maybe that’s why Pippa, 28, was trying to tone down her image on Thursday when she wore a full-length Project D Elle floral gown at the Too Many Women breast cancer dinner in Richmond.
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It is proving to be a rosy time for green-fingered Prince Charles.

Latest accounts lodged for A.G. Carrick, the trading arm of The Prince’s Charities Foundation, reveal it made £395,000 this year – a whopping £370,000 increase from 2010.

‘The change in profits is down to the fact that Charles is now allowed to show proceeds from ticket sales for garden tours at Highgrove, which gives a truer picture of the success of his trading,’ says a mole.


source;dailymail