Next week, thousands of lucky spectators will head to London for the world’s oldest tennis championship, with tens of millions more tuning in on TV.
For many, Wimbledon signals the start of summer, made even more enjoyable with a steady flow of Pimm’s cocktails.
However, in 2019, some spectators were left with a bad taste in their mouths – and it wasn’t from the strawberries and cream.
Meghan, who had married Prince Harry the year before, attended the tournament to watch her friend Serena Williams ‘in a private capacity’.
The Duchess’s bodyguards warned fans not to take photos of her, so she could ‘engage with people rather than camera phones’.
This led to Meghan being harshly labeled the ‘pushy princess’.
She was branded ‘childish’ and a ‘control freak’ after former tennis champion Sally Jones revealed she had been warned against taking pictures and told the royal’s ‘embarrassed’ bodyguard she was trying to snap a photo of Ms. Williams, unaware that Meghan was there.
Ms. Jones told MailOnline the Duchess was ‘clearly looking around to see who was looking at her,’ adding: “Harry and Meghan see themselves more as A-list celebrities than royals carrying out their duties. It’s control-freakery.”
In July 2019 Meghan, who married Prince Harry the year before, attended the tournament to watch friend Serena Williams ‘in a private capacity’
The Duchess’s bodyguards warned tennis fans not to take pictures of her so she could ‘engage with people rather than camera phones’
Serena Williams is a seven-time Wimbledon champion and friend of Meghan
She added: “There were about 200 photographers snapping away at her, but security were sent to warn an old biddy like me. It makes them look foolish. It’s childish and makes us look like fools.”
Another spectator took a photo of himself with Court 1 near her – but Meghan’s bodyguard also warned him against taking pictures in her area.
Those attending Wimbledon are allowed to take photos for personal, non-commercial use.
Ms. Williams and Meghan met at a Super Bowl party in 2010 and became close friends.
The Duchess invited the sportswoman to her wedding to Prince Harry and her high-profile baby shower when pregnant with son Archie in New York in February 2019.
Meghan wrote on her now-defunct lifestyle blog, The Tig: “We hit it off immediately, taking pictures, laughing through the flag football game we were both playing in, and chatting not about tennis or acting, but about all the good old-fashioned girly stuff. That’s how our friendship started.”
Piers Morgan commented on the situation, saying to Good Morning Britain viewers: “A private capacity, at Wimbledon? This is just ridiculous.
“It’s frankly hypocritical. They’re not private people, they’re the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. If you want privacy, go back to America and live privately.”
Piers Morgan weighed in on the row, telling Good Morning Britain viewers: ‘A private capacity, at Wimbledon? This is so ridiculous’
A spectator was taking a selfie with the court in the background and said he had no idea the Duchess was there
Location, Location, Location star Kirstie Allsopp tweeted: “If you earn money by entertaining, in sport or media, or by being a member of the Royal Family, photos are part of the deal – because you’re b****y lucky to have the privileges that come with the jobs and the wages.”
Ms. Jones, a former sports presenter for the BBC and ITV, said she was confused when a royal protection officer told her: “Would you not take photographs of the Duchess? She’s here in a private capacity.”
She told MailOnline: “I felt a tap on my shoulder and was asked not to take pictures of the Duchess – but I had no idea she was there until then. I was absolutely gobsmacked.
“I looked across and saw that she was between two of her friends, wearing sunglasses and a hat – but she was clearly looking around to see who was looking at her.
“I told him it was bonkers and that even if I had been trying to snap the Duchess, I’d have gotten a blurry picture of her right ear. I said to him, ‘Have you thought about having a word with any of those television cameras?’ He looked a little uncomfortable.
“There is now a clear sense that Harry, Meghan, and their team see themselves more as A-list celebrities rather than royals carrying out their duties. Their wish to control things is in stark contrast with the Cambridges, who appear far more sensible. Kate was at Wimbledon two days earlier and acted completely differently.
“I’m a royalist, but everyone is getting more and more fed up with Harry and Meghan’s approach.”
Meghan’s personal assistant and a Palace Press officer sat behind her, as well as a number of security guards
Meghan was dubbed a ‘pushy princess’ and called a ‘control freak’ for her actions
An official tasked with organising the event said: ‘It was a nightmare, she was a nightmare’
“The photograph incident is the latest in a long list of issues, such as the confusion over when Meghan went into labor, where she had the baby, and more recently, the secrecy surrounding the names of the godparents.
“It’s all completely unnecessary, and they are trying to score points.”
An official tasked with organizing the event told The Times: “It was a nightmare, she was a nightmare.”
An insider from the All England Club shared with the newspaper that she was not supposed to be wearing jeans in the members’ areas of the tennis club.
Another Wimbledon official said: “She wanted to come incognito, but there were problems.
“They couldn’t invite her into the royal box because she was wearing jeans, but that didn’t really matter because all she wanted to do was come and watch Serena.”
The source claimed it was fortunate that Andy Murray was playing on the same court after Ms. Williams, as she would not have been allowed in the Royal Box on Centre Court with jeans on – despite being part of the Royal Family.
Four rows – and as many as 40 seats – surrounding her were kept empty by her security detail while VIPs were left queuing outside.”
An All England Club insider said she was not supposed to be wearing jeans in the members’ areas
Four rows – and as many as 40 seats – surrounding her were kept empty by her security detail while VIPs were left queuing outside
Her personal assistant and a Palace Press officer sat behind her, along with a number of security guards.
More recently, Prince Harry has stated that it is ‘impossible’ to bring Meghan and his children back to the UK after losing a legal challenge regarding the withdrawal of his security detail.
The Duke of Sussex’s barrister argued that the decision by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures to remove his Met Police armed bodyguards while he is in his home country has put the royal’s life ‘at stake’.
The court found that his ‘grievance’ over downgraded security did not ‘translate into a legal argument’ to successfully challenge the decision.
Speaking after the judgment, the Duke of Sussex said: “Obviously pretty gutted about the decision. We thought it was going to go our way.
“But it certainly has proven that there is no way to win this through the courts, which someone had told me about beforehand.
“The decision has been a surprise as well as not a surprise. For the time being, it’s impossible for me to bring my family back to the UK.”
Speaking to the BBC, the Prince mentioned that on the occasions he has returned to the UK since his security was removed, he felt he was ‘putting myself at risk’.
Meghan returned to Wimbledon with the Princess of Wales and her sister Pippa Middleton the following week
At the time, it was believed the show of unity with Kate was to put any rumours of a feud to bed – but Meghan later said their Wimbledon appearances weren’t as friendly as they seemed
The week after the photography incident, Meghan returned to Wimbledon with the Princess of Wales and her sister Pippa Middleton.
It was believed that the show of unity was meant to put rumours of a feud to rest – but Meghan later revealed that her Wimbledon appearances with Kate weren’t always as friendly as they may have seemed.
In her notorious 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, she was asked: “Did you feel welcomed by everyone? It seemed like you and Kate… at the Wimbledon game where you were going to watch a friend play tennis…
“Was it what it looked like? You are two sisters-in-law out there in the world, getting to know each other.
“Was she helping you, embracing you into the family, helping you adjust?”
Meghan began by saying: “I think everyone welcomed me.”
But she added: “When you say, ‘Was it what it looked like?’, my understanding and my experience of the past four years is, it’s nothing like what it looks like.
“It’s nothing like what it looks like.”
Meghan told Oprah of her Wimbledon appearances with Kate: ‘My understanding and my experience of the past four years is, it’s nothing like what it looks like’
The Duchess also claimed that the Royal Family would advise her on what she should and shouldn’t do, and how it may appear to those outside The Firm.
Meghan added: “There was a day that one of the members of the family, she came over, and she said, ‘Why don’t you just lay low for a little while, because you are everywhere right now?’
“And I said, ‘I’ve left the house twice in four months. I’m everywhere, but I am nowhere.’
“And from that standpoint, I continued to say to people, ‘I know there’s an obsession with how things look, but has anyone talked about how it feels? Because right now, I could not feel lonelier.'”
Less than a year after her Wimbledon appearance, in January 2020, Harry and Meghan announced that they were leaving the Royal Family and would split their time between America and the UK, before moving to the latter permanently.
Meghan at a California restaurant with tennis star Ms Williams
Ms. Williams has been vocal in her praise for Meghan, including comments following the Duke and Duchess’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Meanwhile, it seems the friendship between tennis star Ms. Williams and the Duchess is still going strong. They were spotted having lunch earlier this year.
The pair were seen at the restaurant Tre Luna in Montecito, close to the California home Meghan shares with Prince Harry and their two children.
Ms. Williams has been vocal in her praise for Meghan, including comments following the Duke and Duchess’s bombshell interview with Oprah.
The tennis player said: “Meghan is a great person and I think the epitome of strength, the epitome of confidence, the epitome of just selflessness, and the epitome of everything is just her and everything that she’s gone through.”
But the Duchess’s relationship with the Royal Family remains incredibly strained.
Meghan’s last visit to the UK was in September 2022 to attend the Queen’s funeral.
Her presence at the tournament in the future is uncertain, but it is likely she will be watching from her Montecito mansion.