Kate's date with King Roger the Eighth

It's been a special Wimbledon for Kate and it came to an end with an historic match. The Duchess of Cambridge, in her first year as patron of the All England Tennis Club, watched Roger Federer become the first man to claim eight singles titles and extend his record as all time Grand Slam holder. Oh, and he's the oldest chap ever to take a singles crown in the Open era. That's one way to make sure Kate remembers her debut season as patron.

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Royals are meant to stay neutral and patrons are meant to show universal support but we all kind of knew that Kate was most likely rooting for the Fed given that a) they're already mates and he was at her sister's wedding and b) her mum really rather likes him quite a lot, as revealed by the duchess herself in a recent TV programme. That said, everything looked rather even handed in the royal box with an equal amount of the famous Kate tennis faces for both players. And when Roger Federer claimed his famous win, there were cheers for champion and runner up.

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It was a right royal turnout in the royal box with the Duke of Cambridge accompanying his wife to the final.  The President of the All England Club, the Duke of Kent, took his usual seat in the front row and his son, Lord Nicholas Windsor, was just behind him. The Duchess of Gloucester, who is heavily involved in the Lawn Tennis Association was also there.  But despite some debate beforehand about who would do the honours when it came to handing over that famous trophy, there were no alarms and no surprises. The Duke of Kent stepped on to Centre Court as he has done for decades and as his own mum, Princess Marina, did before him and presented the prizes.

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Kate, however, was straight out of her seat after the players' lap of honour had finished and as the cameras ended up behind the scenes, there was that duchess again.

Hugs, kisses and handshakes from royalty and the family for the #Wimbledon champion... pic.twitter.com/wxpTxn8w6i

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) 16 July 2017

Yep, Wills and Kate headed behind the scenes to be among the first to congratulate Roger Federer on his win and he looked very pleased to see them with kisses and hugs from his royal fans. It also ensured he didn't feel too left out after the Women's Singles Champion, Spain's Garbine Muguruza, got a right royal welcome from King Juan Carlos as she stepped off Centre Court yesterday following her win.  William and Kate then settled back into the royal box to watch the last title of the year decided with Jamie Murray and Martina Hingis taking the Mixed Doubles crown.

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Then it was off home for some last minute packing  - the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge head off on their five day tour of Poland and Germany with George and Charlotte tomorrow.

Photo credit: Wimbledon Twitter.