Kate Middleton’s appearance at this year’s Wimbledon got a lot of attention — but so did that of another royal associate.
While fans were thrilled to see Kate at the annual tennis tournament on Saturday, July 12, her private secretary Lt. Col Tom White also caught the eye of quite a few people, who turned to the internet to voice their interest.
“He’s a Fox!” one fan expressed via X, while another added, “I mean, Silver fox.”
White similarly caused a stir when he joined the royal household in February 2024. “Oh my he looks like Roger Federer,” wrote one fan on X at the time.
White was on hand to escort a visibly emotional Princess of Wales, 43, as she greeted the crowd attending the tournament, as well as tennis legend Billie Jean King. Kate, the patron of the All England Club, has been a regular fixture at Wimbledon for years.
According to The Sun, White is married to his wife Stephanie, and the pair share a daughter. The family lives in London, and the outlet also noted that White is a tremendous fan of tennis — just like the Princess of Wales.
White previously served as Queen Elizabeth II’s equerry, a role that has historically overseen the royal stables and also served as an assistant to a member of the royal family.
Before coming onboard at Buckingham Palace, White served as a Royal Marines officer in Afghanistan when he was just 22 years old, The Telegraph reported in 2023. He is credited with helping his troops and nearby civilians, including children, avoid a bombing at a nearby school in the southern province Helmand.
Kate Middleton Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
“It turns your stomach to think what could have happened if we hadn’t found the bombs,” the outlet noted he said at the time. “These people knew they could have blown a lot of kids sky high – and they didn’t care.”
White is also the first man to hold the position of private secretary for the Princess of Wales. The role of a private secretary is a crucial one for members of the family, as that person helps support the family by organizing their domestic and international duties, public events and various programs, the royal family’s official website explains.
It’s a long-standing tradition that members of the royal family attend the Wimbledon tennis championships in London each year. The British royal family’s Wimbledon attendance dates back to the early 1900s. Fast forward to 2017 when Princess Kate Middleton inherited the All England Club as a patronage when the late Queen Elizabeth II — who […]
A private secretary to King Charles takes on an even larger role, often advising “on constitutional matters” and taking “responsibility for everything from speeches and correspondence to official presents and congratulatory messages to members of the public.”
