Catherine, the Princess of Wales was back in Wimbledon’s Royal Box on July 12, this time for the Jannik Sinner-Alexander Zverev men’s singles final with Charlotte beside her. The appearance placed Charlotte in one of the tournament’s most watched seats for a match that drew another wave of formal, closely observed guests.
That final carried the kind of draw Wimbledon has long used to showcase its Royal Box, and this one had a familiar face among the crowd as Stan Smith took his seat in a steel-blue suit and an All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club tie. Friedrich Merz was seated behind him, while Dustin Hoffman arrived in a blue blazer, a sky blue shirt and a club tie. Nicole Kidman also appeared in a double-breasted cream blazer with a tie and bone-white trouser, turning the stands into a moving display of the tournament’s dress code as much as its guest list.
The July 12 scene followed Queen Camilla’s own Royal Box appearance on July 8, when she watched Marta Kostyuk defeat Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 in straight sets with Annabel Elliot alongside her. That day, and again on the final weekend, Wimbledon’s insistence on formality was part of the story: the All-England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Association says jacket-and-tie is expected at all times, even though one man behind Camilla was seen stripped down to his shirtsleeves. The clothing rule is clear; the way it is sometimes observed is less so.
For Catherine and Charlotte, the final was the day’s defining Royal Box moment. For Wimbledon, it was another reminder that the same seat can carry sport, ceremony and a small dose of social theater at once, with the unfinished question left hanging over who, exactly, gets to bend the rules when everyone else is expected to follow them.
