Kate and Harry's new sporting roles

We know Kate loves tennis and we know Harry loves rugby and now we (almost) know that very soon they will be patrons of two of the most famous organisations involved with those sports. According to the Sunday Times, the Queen is passing on her patronages of the All England Tennis and Croquet Club and the Rugby Football Union to the younger generation.

The Duchess of Cambridge is set to become patron of the All England Tennis and Croquet Club, the home of Wimbledon

Kate is a regular in the Royal Box at Wimbledon while Harry was so high profile in his support for the Rugby World Cup coming to England that he even appeared in a video shown as part of the opening ceremony. The two royals are already associated with the organisations they will become patrons of - Harry is already vice patron of the RFU - and although official announcements won't take place for a while, the decision seems to be made.

Did you spot Prince Harry's cameo appearance alongside Jonny Wilkinson in the Opening Ceremony film for the 2015 Rugby World Cup? Speaking at the Opening Ceremony to a crowd of 82,000 people, Prince Harry, Honorary President of England Rugby 2015 spoke of his excitement of the coming "celebration of rugby which I hope will inspire current players, those new to the game, and future generations." #RWC2015 Image credit: Tim Mercer/Rugby School

A photo posted by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Sep 19, 2015 at 1:27am PDT

The Queen is scaling back her patronages as she approaches her 90th birthday but with 628 to her name, even passing on a dozen or so will still leave her with a formidable workload. She has been patron of the All England Club for 64 years and was at Centre Court in 1977 when Virgina Wade won the women's singles title. She last visited the club in 2010. 

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There has been a long history of royal association with Wimbledon. Princess Helena Victoria, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, often attended the Wimbledon championships. In recent times, the Duke of Kent has been the royal most associated with the tennis event and as President of the All England Club he presents the trophies. These new sporting roles for Kate and for Harry bring a new generation of royal links with them.