A royal racquet at Wimbledon!

With the action kicking off again today at Wimbledon after an eventful year for the royals, fans will be on the lookout for any familiar faces.

The Princess of Wales has been nearly every year since 2011 and is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club – though it’s not been confirmed if she will make an appearance this time due to her cancer treatment. 

Other royals will likely be more than willing to pick up the slack though. The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Edinburgh Queen Camilla are all tennis fans and have been spectators at Wimbledon.   

Though the late Queen Elizabeth was patron of the All England Club for more than 60 years, she only attended four times – but she did meet tennis greats Serena Williams and Roger Federer in 2010.

Her great-grandchildren, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, have also been to watch.

So, the proceedings begin again, here is a look back at some of the royals’ top moments at Wimbledon. 

A curtsy for the Queen 

In 2010, the Queen attended Wimbledon for what would be the last time, and was introduced to Serena Williams. 

The former tennis champion, wearing white, was seen giving the monarch a respectful curtsey. 

She previously said: ‘I’ve been working on my curtsy. It’s a little extreme – I get very low. I’m going to have to tone it down a bit.’

Kate sheds tears as unlikely winner pulls through

In last year’s women’s singles final, Tunisia’s Tunisian Ons Jabeur lost her second final in a row.

This time, it was to the unseeded Czech Republic player Markéta Vondrousova.

And Kate, who was watching in person, was clearly moved by the battling performance as she was seen in tears after Jabeur’s defeat.  

Tennis-loving Kate focused on the match

In an amusing clip from last year, Kate appeared completely focused on the match she was watching, so much so that she turned her head left to right alongside the crowd.

The Princess’s gaze was perfectly in sync with the spectators around her as she took in the action.

For the occasion, she wore a mint £1,950 Balmain blazer paired with a smart pleated white skirt.

Kate and Sophie smile with Serena Williams 

The Princess of Wales was first introduced to former tennis champion Serena Williams in 2016 alongside Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh.

The trio marked the occasion by posing for a video together. Serena was seen placing her arm around Kate’s waist and smiling for the camera.

‘OK so I’m in the “in crowd” now,’ Serena said, as she poses with Kate, who looked radiant in a yellow dress, ‘I’m with royalty.’ 

Kate then gestured to one side and Sophie joined them and cuddled up to Kate in a candid moment. 

Tennis enthusiast Kate meets a sporting legend 

Ahead of Andy Murray’s match on Centre Court in 2017, Kate met tennis legend Martina Navratilova.

The then Duchess of Cambridge looked thrilled to meet Martina, who won 18 grand slam singles titles in her career.

The former champion asked Kate if she was left-handed, prompting her to make a swinging motion as she said, ‘no, right-handed!’  

William and Kate together at Wimbledon 

The Prince and Princess of Wales looked radiant together when they attended Wimbledon in July 2021.

They watched Ashleigh Barty triumph in the final and the occasion marked Kate’s first outing after she had to self isolate due to coming in contact with a Covid-infected person.

The pair were seen sharing jokes and laughing together in the royal box, with Kate cutting an elegant figure in an emerald green gown.

Prince George joins in with the tennis fun 

Prince George attended the men’s Wimbledon final in 2022 with Kate and William. 

The young Prince, wearing a smart suit, followed the pair and shook hands with people at the event. 

Later on, he even got his hands on the trophy as his parents chatted to champion Novak Djokovic about his win. 

Queen Camilla has some sound advice for a ball girl 

Queen Camilla attended the All England Lawn and Tennis Club in July 2023 to watch Ons Jabeur and Elena Rybakina – and then Carlos Alvaraz and Rune Holger – battle it out on Centre Court.

During her visit, she shared some advice with a ball girl to remain as agile as possible to keep up with the physically demanding job.

She also joked about how she had once been in the same position as a ball girl – but joked those days were ‘100 years ago’.

The Queen wore Wimbledon white in a knee-length dress with navy piping.

Young fan says ‘Hi Princess’ to Kate 

During a visit to Wimbledon last year, Kate had a heartwarming interaction with a young boy who sweetly greeted the princess. 

In an attempt to catch Kate’s attention, the youngster softly shouted ‘Hi Princess!’

Kate immediately stopped and went to talk for him.  

The Princess asked, ‘What’s your name?’, before adding: ‘Have you had a fun day?’ 

She then turned her attention to the little boy’s toy that he had in his hands, asking: ‘What’s this? Very cool. I like that.’

Before leaving the area, a beaming Kate, who had bent down so she was at eye-level, added: ‘Nice to meet you.’

Princess Charlotte joins in at Wimbledon for the first time

Keen to join in with the family tradition, Princess Charlotte went to Wimbledon for the first time last summer. 

She joined her parents, William and Kate, as well as Prince George. 

The Princess greeted people before stopping to make a fuss of Stella, a springer spaniel police dog. 

Before taking their seats in the Royal Box, both Charlotte and her brother George received goody bags from staff at the All England Club.

They then watched Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz triumph over Novak Djokovic in the men’s singles final.

Both young royals punched the air in delight when Alcaraz sealed victory.