Tominey: Princess Kate is the reason why so many celebrities went to Wimbledon!

During the Wimbledon fortnight, we heard endless stories about how the Princess of Wales is somehow too precious, too delicate, too important to ever speak to a Russian or Belarusian. It felt like Kate was on strike during the tournament too – other than her appearances on finals weekend, Kate only attended Wimbledon for one Centre Court session on Day 2, and she had to be bribed with “you get to flirt with Roger Federer!” So please, tell me how Kate “sparked an A-list renaissance at Wimbledon.” That’s Camilla Tominey’s latest column at the Telegraph – Kate is receiving credit for… celebrities enjoying tennis matches? To be fair, there were tons of celebrities at the men’s final on Sunday. But the argument there is that people (including Kate’s children) were excited to see the sport’s new superstar, Carlos Alcaraz.

Not since the Oscars has a single venue been sprinkled with so much stardust. From an ageless Brad Pitt, munching on crisps with director Guy Ritchie, to James Bond star Daniel Craig and his actress wife Rachel Weisz making a rare public appearance together in the Royal Box, Sunday’s men’s singles final brought an unprecedented amount of Hollywood glamour to SW19. As a close friend of the seven-time Wimbledon champion, Australian X-Men actor Hugh Jackman watched the action from Djokovic’s box alongside his wife Jelena.

Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield was sitting next to the singer Ariana Grande and Bridgerton actor Jonathan Bailey (he and Grande worked on Wicked together), behind Thor actor Tom Hiddleston and his actress fiancé Zawe Ashton. Elsewhere in the stands were the rapper Stormzy and incoming Doctor Who and Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa, who sat next to Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame and Lewis Capaldi. With the exception, perhaps, of Formula 1, it is difficult to remember a sporting event that has managed to attract quite so many A-listers.

And at the centre of it all was avid tennis fan the Princess of Wales, clearly in heaven, seven years into her role as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC). Joined by her husband Prince William, 41, and children Prince George, who turns 10 on Saturday, and Princess Charlotte, eight (at five, Prince Louis was deemed too young to attend), Kate, 41, was once again leading the style stakes in a £750 green short sleeved Roland Mouret “Cady” midi dress, which she teamed with Victoria Beckham black sunglasses.

Cheered by the crowd as she stepped on to the hallowed grass to present the trophies, the mother of three has become as synonymous with the world’s oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament as strawberries and cream.

Like her predecessor the Duchess of Kent, who along with her husband the Duke of Kent, handed out the trophies at Wimbledon from 1969 to 2001, famously comforting a tearful Jana Novotna when she lost to Steffi Graff in 1993, the Princess has put tennis firmly on the royal map.

She even twice accompanied her sister in law, the Duchess of Sussex, to Wimbledon in 2018 and 2019, when they cheered on Meghan’s friend Serena Williams alongside Kate’s sister, Pippa Matthews. (Federer and his wife Mirka were guests at Pippa and her husband James’s wedding in 2017 and Kate’s parents Carole and Michael have both been to Wimbledon and the cinch championships at Queen’s on numerous occasions).

The princess’s enthusiastic involvement appears to have helped to spark a renaissance for a sport which some had dubbed “boring” because of the dominance of Djokovic, Federer and Rafael Nadal. With the exception of Andy Murray’s historic wins in 2013 and 2016, Alcaraz’s victory on Sunday marks the first time a new name has been engraved on the silver gilt, 18in high trophy since Australian Lleyton Hewitt beat Argentinian David Nalbandian in 2002.

[From The Telegraph]

Again… it was about Alcaraz and his star power. It was about the match-up of Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, a historic generational battle (which advertisers and fans love). People thought it would be a good final and it was. Tons of celebrities have always gone to Wimbledon too, and if you watch ESPN’s coverage, John McEnroe will often sprinkle in stories about meeting Princess Diana, who loved tennis and was a regular at Wimbledon. It’s truly crazy that Tominey is so desperate to give Kate credit for something, anything, that she’s settled on this: Kate is the reason why celebrities come out for Wimbledon! Not only that, but Kate has star power too, she’s a celebrity too! I thought they hated celebrities?? Meanwhile, there are so many celebrities at the US Open and the Miami Open gets pretty star-studded too. They’re there because of Kate too!!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.