Duchess of Cambridge moves into spotlight as Queen's older cousins step back

Watch: Kate watches women's final at Wimbledon after period of self-isolation

As a young monarch, the Queen enlisted several of her cousins to help her carry out royal duties and navigate her public life.

But almost 70 years after she acceded to the throne, those cousins appear to be taking steps back, allowing the younger royals to step more into the spotlight.

At the close of the Wimbledon 2021 tournament, the Duke of Kent, one of the Queen's cousins, announced he would be stepping back as the president of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) after decades of representing the iconic London venue.

It paves the way for the Duchess of Cambridge, who has been working alongside him there, to take on a starring role.

Since becoming its patron in 2016, the duchess has been a visible part of the annual Wimbledon fortnight, meeting ballgirls and boys each year, and helping present the trophies to the winners on finals weekend.

Players have been delighted to meet the tennis-loving royal, and she's forged friendships with greats like Roger Federer and Andy Murray, who she enlisted to surprise young players during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is no immediate plan to replace the duke, 85, but it's reported she will absorb his duties, meaning Kate will be the sole royal on the courts for trophy presentations.

The announcement of the increased role for the Duchess of Cambridge came soon after another royal cousin handover, as Princess Alexandra passed over one of her roles to Sophie, the Countess of Wessex.

Princess Alexandra, the younger sister of the Duke of Kent, opened a new Guide Dogs centre in Bristol with Sophie, and passed on her patronage of the institution.

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Alexandra is 84 years old and despite the fact she is still a working member of the Royal Family, she has not carried out as many duties over the last year.

In the last year she is mentioned in the Court Circular, which records the senior royal's duties, just four times, and one of those is Prince Philip's funeral.

That's down from 22 mentions from the same period of mid-July 2019 to mid-July 2020.

Watch: Duke of Edinburgh's death 'left a giant-sized hole in our lives', says Sophie

Sophie, 56, previously said she did not think she could fit more work into her schedule, but the decision to add to her patronages may be viewed as another sign of her rise in the royal ranks.

She has been increasingly visible in the royal realm, through the family's social media pages and in interviews, first after the step back of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and then after the death of Prince Philip.

Guide Dogs happens to fit well for the countess too, as she already represents several charities to do with blindness or visual impairment.

The handovers also show a shifting dynamic within the Royal Family, as the focus and the workload moves to the Queen's descendants.

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While Sophie previously laughed off the idea of a 'magnificent seven' of working royals, there is a focus on the direct line to the throne, now that it has been filled out as Charles, Anne, and Edward have grown up.

Kate's increased role in Wimbledon even sees an end to a longstanding link between the Kents and the SW19 event, as the Duke of Kent took over from his mother, Princess Marina.

She had taken over from her husband after his sudden death in a plane crash.

But now the tournament and its grounds will be associated with the Cambridges, not the Kents, and if the reports of Prince George's blossoming tennis skills are accurate, then it could stay there for a long time to come.

While the Queen had to branch out sideways for support, there are now plenty of royals in her direct line to help out.

Most of her grandchildren are not working royals, with Harry and Meghan opting out of the system, while Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and their cousins Lady Louise Windsor, James the Viscount Severn, Zara and Peter Phillips, have never been on the family payroll.

Heir to the throne Prince Charles has long been reported to want to slim down the monarchy.

Slowly but surely, that may now be happening.