The hotly anticipated Wimbledon tennis tournament is back today, as 128 players in the men’s and ladies’ singles battle it out for a place in the finals.
Not to be missed, the stakes are high: this year’s prize money totals a whopping £44.7million.
Wimbledon has become known not only for the tennis but its attendees.
Members of the public often grab the attention of the TV cameras with their antics, and famous faces adorn the stands.
This latter group includes the Royal Family, whose members flock to SW19 every year — but the event hasn’t always gone down well with various family members.
Some of the family have even committed themselves to the games, the Princess of Wales, for example, is the patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
It has been a tradition for the family to attend for decades, and while their presence usually goes without note, the same cannot be said for one instance involving Katharine, the Duchess of Kent — wife of King Charles’s uncle the Duke of Kent — after she was left “deeply hurt”.
In 1999, Katharine wanted to bring the 12-year-old son of a bereaved friend into the Royal Box.
But her request was refused because children who were not royals were not permitted to sit in the exclusive enclosure.
The child was as a result offered alternative seating, and the Duchess later received a letter from John Curry, then Wimbledon’s tennis chief, reminding her of the rules.
Reports from the time suggest that the letter also told her to keep guests limited to one a day.
The Guardian reported that the Duchess was “in the habit of inviting three or four guests several times during the tournament”.
According to the BBC, the Duchess was “deeply hurt” by the letter and considered a boycott of the Royal Box.
A few months after the episode, Mr Curry apologised to Katharine but stood by the ban.
In a statement, he said: “I regret any unintentional hurt this may have caused to her Royal Highness.”
He also denied restricting her guests to one per day and said: “As happens every year with all our royal guests, I reconfirmed our guidelines concerning the invitation of additional guests and the subject of children. No royal has been limited to one guest in the past or will be in the future”.
Refusing to change the ban, the chief added: “Because of demand for space in the royal box, we also ask that, apart from children of the royal family, children are not invited as they exclude other worthy people from attending, many of whom contribute to tennis”.
Despite the reports of the boycott, the Duchess made it clear that she “respected the rules”.
A spokesman for the Duchess of Kent told the BBC at the time: “The Duchess has asked me to make clear that she respects the rules and regulations of the All England Lawn Tennis Club with whom she shares a wish to encourage more children and young people to watch and participate in tennis.
“She has also asked me to say that, as in previous years, she is much looking forward to attending next year’s championships and the next Davis Cup matches.”
Katharine, alongside her husband Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, continued to hand out winner’s trophies until 2001 — well after she had retired from public life.
