Kate Middleton served up a special surprise for schoolchildren. To mark what would have been the start of Wimbledon’s finals weekend, the Duchess of Cambridge invited Sir Andy Murray to partake in a video call with young tennis players from Bond Primary School in South London. “I’ve got a very important person here that’s going to come and join us, that would love to meet you guys and they might be able to share some tennis tips as well with you,” Kate said.

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The Duchess gave the kids hints to guess their special guest. She said, “I’ll give you a few clues and see if you can guess who this special guest might be. So he is a he. He plays tennis for Great Britain. And he’s a two-time Olympic champion. He’s a former World Number One...Can you possibly guess who this might be, our special guest today?” “Andy Murray,” one youngster guessed, to which Kate replied, “You are right!”

The former Wimbledon champion spoke to the children about his lockdown experience, why he got into tennis, and shared tips to help them improve their game. The Duchess also asked the group about their other “favorite sports,” including soccer. As the children shouted out their favorite teams, Kate declared her support for husband Prince William’s team. She said, “I need to back up my husband, he’s an Aston Villa fan.”

Kate sported the green and purple bow tie pin that she normally wears to Wimbledon on her $775 HVN Maria belted printed dress for the virtual appearance. The Duchess, who is an avid tennis fan, became patron of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club in 2016, a patronage that Queen Elizabeth passed on to her. During the call, the mom of three praised the sportsmanship of the annual tournament saying, “I think tennis is brilliant for that, in particularly Wimbledon.”

Wimbledon was canceled this year due to the COVID-pandemic. To commemorate what would have been the first day of the sporting event, the Duchess narrated a video reassuring fellow tennis fans that next year’s tournament will be ”worth the wait.” “Three hundred and fifty days, 14 hours and 12 minutes between the last ball hit and when the next was meant to be. Over the years, your support has shaped this historic event. No matter the time of day, nor the names on the scoreboard, you have always been there, come rain or shine,” Kate said. “This year, sadly though, things are very different. But we will bide our time until we sit on the edge of our seats again and celebrate again. So, when the time is right and we open the gates, we will be back again and it will have been worth the wait.”