The Prince and Princess of Wales stepped out at the final day of Wimbledon on Sunday with their two eldest children, Prince George, 11, and Princess Charlotte, 10. Kate, 43, looked visibly moved by the huge cheers from the crowd during her two appearances at the annual tennis tournament.
On July 13, Father Jim Sichko, who first spotted William in the crowd, seized the moment to call out, “I love you, Kate!” Speaking to PEOPLE afterwards, the 58-year-old, who is a cancer survivor, recalled the day. He said: “It was very interesting. They came out, and I didn’t know Prince William was there. Then, as I was looking, I said, ‘Oh my gosh, that looks like Prince William.’ And everyone around me said, ‘Yes, they’re here as a family’.”
Speaking of Kate, who announced at the start of this year that she was in remission following a cancer diagnosis last year, he said: “They were there until the end. Then she came out and greeted all the children and took time with them.”
Praising Kate, and sharing his verdict of the royal, he also added: “Let me tell you, you can tell if someone is authentic and she is authentic.”
The Princess of Wales had stepped down from the Royal Box to Centre Court to present the trophies to winner Jannik Sinner and runner-up Carlos Alcaraz when Father Jim called out to her in a sweet moment of affection.
Discussing the moment, that has since gone viral on social media, he added: “She stepped out and then there was just this moment of silence, and I screamed out, ‘I love you, Kate!’ I didn’t know if anyone heard. I did not even realize that she made any type of response to it.
“Then I was worried, because I didn’t hear anything afterwards, and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, did anyone hear that? Did it fall on deaf ears?’
“And then I posted on social media and said to the people who follow me, ‘I just want you to know if you were watching – I did this and I want to apologize if it did not sound appropriate, but I was just caught up in the moment.”
Although Kate and William bought along George and Charlotte, the couple’s youngest son Louis did not make an appearance. The reason why Louis’ no show not confirmed, his age is likely behind the couple’s decision.