Royal | News - Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Prince Louis once received a “priceless gift” from a tennis sporting legend, but he is unlikely to have used the practical gift, which was given to Princess Kate back in 2019.
The Princess of Wales kindly received a signed pair of Adidas Stan Smith trainers courtesy of the 1972 Wimbledon men’s singles champion himself, Stan Smith, while in the Royal Box at Wimbledon, five years ago.
Pictures show Princess Kate holding onto a signed trainer, passed on by Stan, which included a touching “To Louis” inscription penned in gold on the side of the shoe.
With royal commentator, Ingrid Seward, deeming them as “priceless”, royal author Phil Dampier recently expressed to The Sun that these sporty shoes would likely stay unscuffed and unworn in the prince’s wardrobe.
He said: “Little Louis is unlikely to wear them as they will be extremely valuable, especially as they were given to him. He won’t be aware of the history himself of course but when he becomes a teenager I’m sure he will treasure them.”
Talking of fashion trends, Phil added: “Stan Smith is a Wimbledon legend and his distinctive Adidas trainers are an iconic design. Long before the likes of Nike came on the scene it was trendy to wear Puma and Adidas trainers in the sixties and seventies.
”And now these brands have come full circle and there is an enormous interest in the simpler but stylish designs.”
Prince Louis has not yet attended Wimbledon, but both his older siblings, Prince George and Princess Charlotte have.
This year, only Princess Charlotte joined her mum, Princess Kate, and her aunt, Pippa Middleton, in the royal box to watch the Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final.
Charlotte is no stranger to centre court as last year she attended the Wimbledon Single Men’s final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic along with her older brother Prince George, which saw Carlos clinch the winner’s trophy.
The Princess of Wales, who is patron of the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and regularly presents the trophy to the winner of the coveted Men’s Singles Final. Princess Kate, 42, has remained out of the spotlight since her cancer diagnosis earlier this year but she made a surprise appearance at Wimbledon 2024.
The trainers are not the only gift given to Prince Louis that will hold a special meaning to the young prince.
For Prince Louis’ christeningHarry tried to honour Diana’s love of first edition novels by buying one for his youngest nephew on his special day.
According to Daily Record, the prince spent £8,000 on a 1926 original edition of AA Milne’s Winnie the Pooh for Louis, a sign of how much he loves and cares for William’s children.
A close source to Harry reportedly said: “One of Harry’s happiest childhood memories was being read a bedtime story by his mother.
“She loved all the old classics and Harry had the brilliant idea of starting a little library of first editions for Louis, Charlotte and George to enjoy as they get older.”