There was a time not that long ago when the most famous, non-royal face in Centre Court’s royal box would be – hold onto your boater – Sir Cliff Richard. The winners’ silverware would be dished out by the now 88-year-old Duke of Kent (the Queen’s first cousin), wearing his trademark dove grey suit, and the royal box’s 74 wicker chairs would be filled with unheard-of dowager duchesses, a sprinkling of foreign dignitaries and superannuated military personnel. Who cared?
Now, however, recently the royal box has become the celeb hotspot of the summer. Already this year, we’ve seen David Beckham, Dave Grohl, Jamie Cullum, Simon Le Bon. Last year’s men’s singles final attracted an A-list crowd made up of Ian McKellen, Nick Jonas, Maggie Smith, Andrew Garfield, Stormzy and the Prince and Princess of Wales, and previous invitees have included Priyanka Chopra, Issa Rae, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Daniel Craig.
“Whoever’s doing the guest list is doing a fantastic job,” says The Daily Beast’s royal editor Tom Sykes. “It’s consistently peppered through with a diverse, mixed-age crowd. It’s modern, glamorous, aspirational and cool. It’s a triumph.”
In fact, Wimbledon’s daily celebrity roll call is now such good value, “Who’s in the royal box today?” is a regular online staple thanks to the starriness of it all. “Wimbledon has been very successful at leveraging its tradition to appeal to a modern audience,” says Sykes. “All of those British institutions really need to take a leaf out of its book.”
The royal box revamp arguably landed around 2017 when the Princess of Wales became patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), first presenting the men’s trophies two years later. It was, shall we say, SW19’s “changing of the guard” – out went the geriatric Duke and in came Kate with her easy charm and impeccable elegance, in those perfectly pitched, swishy dresses by Emilia Wickstead, Roksanda and Roland Mouret and the like.
“Kate is now the patron saint of Wimbledon,” says Sykes. The royal box’s newfound glamour “is totally because of her, and the halo effect of having her”.
Of course, what makes the royal box so very exclusive is that you can’t just buy your way in. Getting an invite is, says the celebrity PR Mark Borkowski, “a bit like getting a gong, or an investiture moment – you have to be someone of note.” And the publicity it creates for the invitees is priceless: “It always has been something that the world likes to look on and generate stories out of,” he adds.
The guest list is under the strict supervision of the new AELTC chair and former junior Wimbledon champion, Debbie Jevans, who, according to the official Wimbledon website, “[takes] into account suggestions from members of the Championships’ Organising Committee, the Lawn Tennis Association and other relevant sources”.
We can expect that the royal family gets a big say: “I’d be surprised if they didn’t have some influence on it,” says Borkowski. “They’ll think about it very carefully – if you have a royal patron, you’ve got to remain relevant, but also cautious about who’s seen as part of that world. It’s come a long way from the whole snob value that went with Wimbledon back in the day.”
But, Sykes adds, the royal box still looks after the senior society crowd: “They are still welcome – it’s great that it’s a nice, traditional English event where those people feel comfortable, but at the same time, there’s definitely room to be cool.”
Technically, the dress code remains as traditional as ever: “Dress is smart,” states the official website. “Suits/jacket and tie, etc. Ladies are asked not to wear hats, as they tend to obscure the vision of those seated behind them”.
As the Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton learnt a few years back, even British sporting heroes will be refused entry if they don’t conform to the regulations. Hamilton’s loud floral shirt, worn without a jacket or tie, did not cut the mustard: “It’s not a beach in Marbella,” sniffed one former Wimbledon security officer at the time.
“There are plenty of other places to be casual,” agrees Borkowski. “There’s a way of being elegant without making the news for being disruptive.” Yet, thanks to the “Kate effect”, adds Sykes, royal box invitees “also have to look cool. It’s not enough to turn up in your Guards tie. Kate being there has made everyone up their game.”
Of course, the most anticipated guest next weekend is HRH herself, whose public duties have been suspended while she undergoes cancer treatment. “It’s been rumoured that she will [attend], and it’s been rumoured that she won’t,” says Sykes.
While the palace has not responded to The Independent’s request for comment, last month Jevans said, “All we’ve said is that we’ll work with her and give her as much flexibility as possible.” Royal watchers believe that Kate’s attendance at the Trooping the Colour last month – and her statement that she hoped to join “a few public engagements over the summer” – signified a cautious “yes”.
“I think she’d love to be there, and I think she knows how important she is to it,” says Sykes. “It would be a real glitter cannon moment if she showed up.”
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