Royals at Wimbledon 2014

The Duke of Kent is the royal star at the end of Wimbledon fortnight as he steps onto the court to present the trophies to the singles champions with the world's media watching (the doubles winners go to him and hop into the royal box for their trophy presentations).  But during the Championships, although the duke is there, others royals get the attention.  And so far this week, the wives of the heirs to two of Europe's oldest thrones have stolen all the glances.  Crown Princess Mary of Denmark was in the front row of the royal box yesterday to watch a thriller of a four setter starring Rafael Nadal and Lukas Rosol.

Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark join in the applause for the players on Centre Court

The future queen looked to be enjoying herself while her sports mad husband, Frederik, watched with interest.  They were in the front row of a star studded royal box which also included Downton Abbey star, Michelle Dockery, Olympic gold medallists Denise Lewis, Sir Steve Redgrave and Jonathan Edwards as well as the Duchess of Cambridge's brother and sister, James and Pippa Middleton.

Mary and Fred get the best seats in a star studded royal box on day four of Wimbledon 2014

On Wednesday, the Duchess of Cornwall had enjoyed a day of tennis at the All England Club and met several of the stars playing that day before settling into the royal box for their matches.

The Duchess of Cornwall meeting some of the ballboys and ballgirls at Wimbledon on June 25th 2014

As the competition hots up, there could well be other royal visitors to the box with seats for both the singles finals hotly contested.  And plenty of royal watchers will be hoping for a glimpse of Spain's new monarchs, King Felipe and Queen Letizia, if Rafael Nadal gets to the final again - they attended as Prince and Princess of Asturias when he first won the title in 2008.  King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians have also been regular visitors and were there when Justine Henin lost in her first Grand Slam final to Venus Williams.  The Duchess of Cambridge visited the royal box in 2011 and 2012, only missing last year as she was in the final stages of her pregnancy. However, it's rare to see the Queen at Wimbledon although she did famously present the trophy to Virginia Wade in 1977, her Silver Jubilee year.  

The Duchess of Cambridge in the royal box at Wimbledon in 2011, not long after her wedding

But there's little doubt that even if all the royals in Europe decided to come to the two big matches, the main seat in the royal box on finals' day belongs to the Duke of Kent.Wimbledon doesn't end without him.