Royal visit
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, joined sporting royalty in the Royal Box during men’s quarter-final day at the All England Club.
The Duchess joined 11-time Grand Slam singles champion Rod Laver, former Formula One driver David Coulthard and golfer Rory McIlroy at Wimbledon’s Centre Court.
Also present in the Royal Box were British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, Academy Award winner Dame Maggie Smith and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
Accompanied by Philip Brook, the chairman of the All England Club, the Duchess spoke to tournament officials and military and London Fire Brigade personnel working at The Championships, including head groundsman Grant Cantin, who is in his 17th year at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
The Duchess also spoke to Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid, the first British winners of the Wimbledon men’s wheelchair doubles title when they came back from a set down to beat the top-seeded French pair, Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer, last year.
“It was an honour to meet the Duchess,” Hewett told wimbledon.com.
“It was quite special,” said Reid. “Myself and Alfie were both in the Royal Box on Saturday to watch some of the tennis. And then to meet some of the royals later in the tournament, it was a nice feeling.”
In 2015, the Duchess famously left The Championships with one of Andy Murray’s sweaty wristbands. It had been given to her by Brook after he caught it when Murray threw some items in the crowd following a commanding second round win over Dutchman Robin Haase on No. 1 Court.
"I saw Camilla just after the match,'' Murray said at the time. "Then the Duchess opened up her bag and my wristband was in there, so he (Brook) obviously had passed it over to her. It was very sweaty."
The wristband was eventually sold off in an online auction for £2,100, with the proceeds going to the Royal Veterinary College Animal Care Trust, which had been chosen by Murray.
With Murray unable to play in this year’s Championships due to a hip injury, the Duchess watched three-time winner Novak Djokovic take on Japan’s Kei Nishikori, followed by Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro against two-time winner Rafael Nadal of Spain later in the day.
