Raducanu and Murray both start Wimbledon with victories

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The royals are known to be Wimbledon fans, with Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, who is patron of All England Club, often spotted enjoying the event from the royal box. This week, the historic tournament started its qualifiers and on Tuesday, Zara and Mike Tindall took their seats at the Centre Court to watch tennis stars from across the world play. Other royals are expected to attend the sporting event, namely Prince William, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who have become Wimbledon regulars throughout the years. 

But the connection dates back to long before the Windsors, with the first royal appearance coming over a century ago, when the then-Prince of Wales, the future King George V,  and his wife Princess Mary attended the 1907 matches. 

George had been asked to attend and present the winner’s trophy by his childhood friend, George Hillyard, who had newly been appointed as the secretary of the Wimbledon Club.

The same year, George V became the club’s president, and ever since, it has become traditional for a member of the Royal Family to be involved in the organisation.

Now, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, the Queen’s first cousin, is President of the All England Club, and is also often seen handing out trophies.

Meanwhile, the Duchess of Cambridge is Royal Patron, having taken on the role in 2016 following the retirement of Queen Elizabeth II, who held the title from 1952. 

The royals typically watch the famous tennis competition from the Royal Box, which was added to the Centre Court at Wimbledon in 1922. 

It has hosted a number of royals, from Princess Margaret to Diana, Princess of Wales, to foreign diplomats, celebrities and friends and family of the royals. 

However, history shows that the royals do not just enjoy watching the matches — they have also competed.

The Queen’s father, the future King George VI but the then Prince Albert, Duke of York, played in the doubles’ tournament alongside his equerry Group Captain Sir Louis Leisler Greig: unfortunately, the pair lost in the first round. 

In the Forties, during World War 2, there was no Wimbledon.

Instead, the grounds were used by Britain’s Home Guard and fire and ambulance services. 

In 1940, Centre Court was damaged in a bombing, and although the tournament resumed in 1946, the court was not repaired until 1947.

Following the death of King George VI, the new Queen Elizabeth II was appointed patron, but the monarch seemingly did not take to her role — her 2010 visit to watch Andy Murray compete was her first in 33 years. 

Murray called the match a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” which saw the return of the age-old tradition of bowing for the royal guests, a custom that was largely phased out by the Duke of Kent, who deemed it anachronism in modern times. 

The Duke inherited the family’s love for tennis, which is recorded back to King Henry VIII who was said to be an early fan of the sport. 

Roman Krznaric, a cultural historian and competitive real tennis player, previously told the New York Times that Henry VIII was an important patron of the game. 

The king loved betting on tennis so much that he built courts around London, including one at Whitehall Palace, which was later converted into a building that now houses the Prime Minister’s cabinet. 

Henry VIII also had his own private court at his home of Hampton Court, and reportedly spent hours playing the sport. 

Mr Krznaric said: “The king was a sportsman, he was into hawking, hunting, archery and jousting.

“He was six feet tall and he could probably move like a cat. I imagine he was a good player.”

Now, the Duchess of Cambridge is a staple at the annual tournament, having developed an interest in tennis during childhood.  

In 2017, she sat down for an interview during the BBC documentary, ‘Sue Barker: Our Wimbledon’, and told Ms Barker watching Wimbledon “was very much part of my growing up.”

The Duchess added: “It’s such a quintessential part of the English summer, and I think it really inspires youngsters, myself, it inspired me, when I was younger to get involved in the game.”

Kate is reportedly passing on her passion to her three children — eight-year-old Prince George, seven-year-old Princess Charlotte and four-year-old Prince Louis.

In April, she was spotted playing tennis with her children at the Hurlingham Club, an exclusive sports club in London. 

The duchess is often joined by her mother, Carole Middleton, father, Michael, and sister, Pippa Matthews at Wimbledon, and even attended the tournament in a private capacity before she officially entered the royal fold in 2011. 

In 2013, when she was told she could “definitely not” attend the prestigious tournament because she was heavily pregnant with Prince George, the future Queen wrote Murray an apology note. 

In the BBC documentary, she admitted: “I wrote to him afterwards saying sorry for not being there, but huge congratulations.”

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