The Princess of Wales was once left “mortified” by her dad Michael Middleton’s faux pas during an outing to Wimbledon.
Each year members of the Royal Family descend upon the Royal Box at Wimbledon to watch some exceptional tennis. The Princess of Wales is one of the biggest royal tennis fans of all and became Patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Association in 2016. She’s previously showcased her own tennis skills in a game with Roger Federer and her family are just as enthusiastic spectators as she is.
Whilst it’s not known whether Kate will attend this year amid her ongoing treatment for cancer, she has been to Wimbledon regularly in the past and on a few occasions she’s been with her dad Michael. It was on one such occasion that Kate was left “mortified” by Michael’s faux pas – something she later spoke candidly about in 2017.
Michael Middleton and Princess Catherine attend day 13 of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in 2021
(Image credit: Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage via Getty)
Opening up on the BBC documentary, Our Wimbledon, the Princess reportedly explained that her father had mixed up two tennis playing icons when trying to play it cool. As per The Mirror, Kate supposedly explained that she and Michael had crossed paths with tennis player Tim Henman, whom her dad greeted as Pete Sampras.
“My father is not going to appreciate this, but we were walking past Tim Henman and we had just seen Sampras play,” she said. “My dad said very coolly, ‘Hi Pete’. I was mortified!”
Whilst she might have been “mortified” at the time about the inadvertent mix-up, father and daughter might laugh about this now. The Princess of Wales and her father also went on to have another day at Wimbledon together in 2021 where they looked to be having a fabulous time.
Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince George attend the Men’s Singles Final at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 10, 2022
(Image credit: Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage via Getty)
It’s also been suggested that Michael and Carole have apparently hosted another legendary tennis player at their own home in Berkshire. The MailOnline previously reported in 2019 that Roger Federer revealed he’d been round to give Prince George a tennis lesson after being questioned about the young royal’s skills.
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“At that stage it’s all about just touch the ball, it’s already good,” he claimed. ‘Same with my boys. I think I have a little advantage that I actually spent some time, you know, with him.”
Roger continued, “I love to see that they’re into tennis or into sports … his mum has always enjoyed their tennis … I hope that he’ll still say the same in a few years’ time.”
It seems that Kate, Michael and Carole’s passion for tennis has been passed down to the next generation.
(Image credit: Photo by Jeremy Selwyn – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Last year and the year before Prince George accompanied the Prince and Princess of Wales to watch the Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final and looked to be having the time of his life seeing the exciting on-court action unfold.
The Princess of Wales used to watch the championships at home when she was growing up. She told the Our Wimbledon documentary that doing so definitely “inspired” her to take up tennis.
“I have watched Wimbledon, that was very much part of my growing up. 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. It hasn’t changed either, I think that’s what’s so wonderful,” she declared.
