Breaking News: Princess Kate’s Key Ally Breaks Silence on Her Absence

Princess Kate’s key sporting ally has said there will be no “pressure” on her to attend the Wimbledon Championships this summer following her cancer diagnosis.

The Princess of Wales is a regular at the U.K.’s grand slam tournament in her capacity as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), but she has recently been off work receiving chemotherapy, putting her attendance this year in doubt.

In a press briefing on Thursday, Deborah Jevans, the prestigious club’s chair, said Kate’s recovery was the main “priority.”

“Our priority is clearly that our Patron has the time to recover and we’re certainly not going to add any additional pressure on her recovery by speculating on her attendance at this year’s Championships,” she said, per the Daily Express.

Kate stepped out of the public eye in January to undergo abdominal surgery and in March revealed that post-operative testing found that cancer had been present.

In a statement released in March, Kate revealed her cancer diagnosis to the world and explained she was undergoing a course of “preventative chemotherapy.”

In the months since, speculation about the royal’s return to work and how her absence would be felt at major events has circulated.

Kensington Palace confirmed in May that Kate would not return to royal duties until cleared to do so by her medical team.