None Of The Wimbledon Players Bowed Or Curtseyed For Queen Camilla

Posted by Mittie Cheatwood on Monday, May 13, 2024

Camilla, Queen Consort, officially joined the royal family when she married then-Prince Charles in 2005, and that was two years after Wimbledon players were required to bow and curtsy to every member of the royal family in the Royal Box. And even after King Charles was crowned, Camilla's Wimbledon status didn't change. Here's a quick history of royal protocol at Wimbledon. It was the Duke of Kent, cousin of Queen Elizabeth, who changed things up. He was president of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) in 2003, and the club's chairman at the time explained the update, saying, "The Duke of Kent feels that during his lifetime the tradition of bowing and curtseying is pretty much on the way out. To do it very publicly on the centre court at Wimbledon doesn't seem right therefore," via The Guardian.

Winning players do have the option to bow or curtsy to the royal who gives them their award, but it's not a requirement. In 2021, after 50 years, the Duke of Kent stepped down as president of the AELTC. Catherine, Princess of Wales, who has been a royal patron of the AELTC since 2016, took over the role of presenting the Wimbledon men's winner with a trophy and the women's winner with a plate in 2022.

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