Kate arrives at Wimbledon for women's final trophy ceremony

The Princess of Wales has arrived at Wimbledon to attend the women's singles final between Amanda Anisimova and Iga Swiatek. Kate, who is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, will present the trophy on Centre Court to the winner of Saturday's match.

Ahead of the final, the princess wore a white belted jacket and pleated skirt, meeting the winner of the ladies' wheelchair final, Wang Ziying. She was accompanied by All England Club chairwoman Deborah Jevans throughout her visit.

Royal meetings with young participants

Kate also met 12-year-old Sophie Kneen, who is due to perform the coin toss at the ladies' final, and eight-year-old Lydia Lowe, who did the same at the ladies' wheelchair final. The princess donned a bow-shaped brooch in the Wimbledon colours of purple and green.

She also spoke with Jefferson Iweh, a ticket sales operator, Bob Flint, an honorary steward, and Wimbledon foundation host Shaniah Williams. Last year, the princess presented the Wimbledon men's final trophy to Carlos Alcaraz, in her second public engagement since she announced her cancer diagnosis.

Royal family presence throughout tournament

The Princess of Wales's parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, were seen in the Royal Box on Monday, with the Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duchess of Gloucester also in attendance. The Queen told tennis star Novak Djokovic that she was keeping her "fingers crossed" as she visited Wimbledon on Wednesday.

The Princess Royal's son Peter Phillips attended the championships on Wednesday, with Hugh Grant and former prime minister Sir John Major also in the Royal Box. Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah, former footballer Ian Wright and Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins were among the notable names to attend a hot day at Wimbledon on Saturday.

Scorching temperatures challenge players

Temperatures are forecast to peak at around 30C and fall short of a record for a women's singles final day, with 31.2C having been recorded on the day of the 1976 final between Chris Evert and Evonne Goolagong Cawley. Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: "There will be blue skies at Wimbledon throughout the day, so it will feel hot, with very high UV levels and a light wind."

The men's singles semi-final on Friday between Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz was stopped twice in less than five minutes because of crowd emergencies, amid temperatures of 32C on Centre Court. Three fans also needed attention on Centre Court on Thursday in similarly hot conditions.

Heat rule protections in place

The men's singles final on Sunday, with highs of 29C predicted, is unlikely to break the record of the warmest closing day on record of 34.1C recorded on July 3 1976. The extreme heat during the 1976 tournament prompted organisers to allow umpires to remove their jackets.

Wimbledon has said the heat rule will apply for all singles events for players, which allows for a 10-minute break when the wet bulb globe temperature is at or above 30.1C. The rule will apply after the second set for all best-of-three-set matches, and after the third set for all best-of-five-set matches.

Players may leave the court during the break, but they may not receive coaching or medical treatment. Dewhurst added: "There might be a little bit more cloud around tomorrow, making it a degree lower."

(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.