Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle Have Both Broken This Rule in the Royal Box at Wimbledon

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle know there are exceptions to every rule — even in the exclusive Royal Box at Wimbledon.

The most coveted seats at the famed British tennis tournament are in the 74 dark green Lloyd Loom wicker chairs in the Royal Box at Centre Court. But the tickets are not for sale — they're by invitation only at the discretion of the Chairman of the All England Club.

"The Royal Box has been used for the entertainment of friends and guests of Wimbledon since 1922," according to Wimbledon. "British and overseas Royal Families are invited as well as heads of government, people from the world of tennis, commercial partners, British armed forces, prominent media organisations, supporters of British tennis and other walks of life."

Guests in the Royal Box are asked to dress "smart" (even Prince George wore a suit and tie despite high temperatures for his  Wimbledon debut!), but a practical summer accessory is discouraged — for a logical reason.

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"Ladies are asked not to wear hats, as they tend to obscure the vision of those seated behind them," Wimbledon states.

However, both Kate and Meghan have appeared at Wimbledon wearing hats to keep cool in the sun.

In 2018, the Princess of Wales (then the Duchess of Cambridge) and the Duchess of Sussex attended the Ladies' Single Final together in their first-ever outing without their husbands.

Meghan, now 41, held a familiar accessory — a white straw hat with a black band above the brim. However, Meghan never wore the headpiece as she watched Angelique Kerber take on Serena Williams (a friend of hers!).

And there's a reason to hat looked familiar — it was the same one Meghan sported while attending the tennis tournament in 2016. It was later revealed that Meghan's visit to the U.K. for Wimbledon that year was also when she and Prince Harry had their first dates.

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In 2019, Meghan returned to the sporting event to watch Williams playing against Slovenia's Kaja Juvan. She wore her hat with jeans a white blazer, but she wasn't sitting in the Royal Box at the time.

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Kate, 41, is a regular at Wimbledon — after all, she's patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. However, she's only worn a hat at the event once.

In 2022, Princess Kate was spotted wearing a sun hat at the Women's Singles Final despite her seat in the Royal Box.

On very hot and sunny days, Wimbledon will pass around hats to Royal Box attendees. These hats feature the tournament's purple and green on a ribbon. While these hats were given out when Kate attended, she brought her own headpiece — and only wore it for a short time. When Kate stepped onto the court to present the trophies, she left the head-topper behind.

Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, were spotted wearing the Wimbledon-approved hats at a different game in 2022. 

Wimbledon is steeped in tradition, but it's not unusual to change the rules to fit with more modern times.

Athletes competing on Centre Court used to bow or curtsy if members of the royal family were seated in the Royal Box. However, a change was made in 2003 and the rule was updated to apply only if Queen Elizabeth and then-Prince Charles — the monarch and her heir — attended.

Players have opted to bow or curtsy to the member of the royal family awarding them their trophy in the years since — however, this is the personal choice of the athlete.

Tennis star Martina Navratilova said she enjoyed the tradition of the curtsy.

“When I got the hang of it, I came to quite enjoy it,” she said, according to The New York Times. “I liked that part. The players walking on the court, curtsying in unison. That was a part of the great tradition here.”