Meghan Markle’s Wimbledon history – from the role it played in her romance with Harry to an awkward day out with Kate
As a sport, tennis is known to be a cruel mistress – and the same could be said for Meghan Markle’s experiences of Wimbledon over the years.
The Duchess of Sussex, 42, attended the tennis championship in south-west London before she married Prince Harry and also during her stint as a working royal.
Meghan is first thought to have visited Wimbledon in July 2016 – the same month she reportedly met Prince Harry – and made a key royal connection in the VIP suite that day.
The former Suits actress then returned to the tournament in 2018 accompanied by the Princess of Wales – but her visit the following year was one of Meghan’s most widely-criticised missteps as a working royal.
Here FEMAIL looks back at Meghan Markle’s Wimbledon highs and lows as the championship comes to a close this weekend.
Pictured: Meghan Markle in the Ralph Lauren VIP Suite at the Wimbledon tennis championships in July 2016
JULY 2016 – Making key royal connection
In Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s 2022 Netflix docuseries, the Duchess explained how she travelled around Europe in 2016 to have a ‘single girl summer’ in the wake of her break-up from Cory Vitiello.
But just weeks before her first date with Prince Harry, the actress crossed paths with an individual with a very strong royal connection at Wimbledon.
Violet von Westenholz is the daughter of former Olympic skier Baron Piers von Westenholz, who is a close personal friend of King Charles.
Her mother Jane von Westenholz is a long time friend of the Queen Consort and was involved in the renovation of Dumfries House – a Scottish stately home saved by Charles in 2007.
In her role as press relations director for Ralph Lauren, Violet organised a publicity day for the brand at Wimbledon tennis tournament – which Meghan attended.
Following the event, the actress uploaded a photo on her Instagram with the PR director and other guests.
Expressing her gratitude, Meghan captioned the post: ‘How much more could I adore this gem thank you Violet von Westenholz’.
Meghan Markle attends day eight of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in July 2016 – the same month she is believed to have met Prince Harry
Meghan Markle pictured speakin to Violet von Westenholtz, who is rumoured to be the one who introduced the Suits actress to Prince Harry
Violet von Westenholz pictured with Meghan Markle at Wimbledon in 2016 – around the time the Duchess of Sussex started dating Prince Harry
The Duchess of Sussex pictured with Violet von Westenholz (centre right) at Wimbledon in June 2016
Violet has been friends with Prince Harry since they were both teenagers, and regularly joined the royal family on skiing trips abroad.
For her first Wimbledon, Meghan wore a chic black dress, tan heels and a matching bag.
During the day, she was pictured posing for photos in Ralph Lauren’s VIP suite before taking her seat on court.
JULY 2018 – First Wimbledon as a Royal
In July 2018, Meghan Markle attended her first Wimbledon since becoming the Duchess of Sussex and joined her new sister-in-law, who is All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, for the penultimate day.
Pictured: The Princess of Wales and Duchess of Sussex meet Lucy Shuker (GBR) and KG Montjane (RSA) during a visit to the Wimbledon Championships in July 2018
While Kate wore a white dress featuring a tennis ball design, Meghan (pictured) opted for wide-leg trousers with a blue striped shirt
For the occasion, the royal wives put on a friendly display for the rare joint appearance as they spoke to players and sat side-by-side in the Royal Box in Centre Court.
While Kate wore a white dress featuring a tennis ball design, Meghan opted for wide-leg trousers with a blue striped shirt.
Beaming in the royal box ahead of the contest, the duchesses watched animatedly as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal battled for the men’s singles title in a five-set match which kept audiences on the edge of their seats.
However, Prince Harry revealed in his bombshell book Spare that Meghan and Kate had fallen out just three months earlier over Princess Charlotte’s flower girl dress.
The royal wives put on a friendly display for the rare joint appearance as they spoke to players and sat side-by-side in the Royal Box in Centre Court
He said Kate messaged Meghan days before the wedding stating there was a problem with the bridesmaid dresses – specifically, Charlotte’s.
He claims Meghan tried to send Kate to the tailor at the Palace to have it fixed.
According to Harry, Meghan found an hour to chat to Kate, who said Charlotte’s dress was too big for her, and she had cried when she tried it on.
The duke also wrote that it wasn’t the only issue Kate had with the planning of the wedding, mentioning an issue with the page boys, but didn’t go into further detail.
After the discussion, Harry said he returned home to find Meghan sobbing on the floor of the kitchen, overcome with stress and worry.
He added that Kate arrived at the house the next day with a card and apology flowers.
The Princess of Wales and Meghan Markle’s rare joint appearance came three months after their disagreement over Princess Charlotte’s flower girl dress
Prince Harry wrote in his bombshell memoir Spare that Meghan and Kate’s disagreement over the dress was a ‘turning point’ in their relationship
Meghan described the episode as a ‘turning point’ in her relationship with Kate.
But the tension didn’t stop there – Harry also writes that Meghan and he were upset that Will and Kate switched place cards to rearrange their table at the royal wedding.
He says that the Cambridges later insisted it was not them, but it had been another guest.
July 2019 – Widely criticised royal misstep
Two months after the birth of her son Archie, Meghan Markle attended Wimbledon in a ‘private capacity’ to watch best friend Serena Williams play.
Pictured: Meghan Markle attended Wimbledon in July 2019 in a ‘private capacity’ to support her friend Serena Williams
Following her 2019 Wimbledon appearance, sources told The Times that Meghan (pictured) had been a ‘nightmare’ to accommodate that day
During her visit, fans were ordered not to take photos of her and club sources said at the time that the Duchess was a ‘nightmare’ to accommodate.
An official tasked with organising the event told The Times: ‘It was a nightmare, she was a nightmare.’
An England Club insider told the newspaper she was not supposed to be wearing jeans in the members’ areas of the tennis club. They said: ‘She’s not allowed to wear jeans.’
Another Wimbledon official told the paper: ‘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.’
Pictured: Meghan Markle seen watching Serena Williams compete on Court 1 with friends Genevieve Hills and Lindsay Roth
A spectator is reprimanded by a security guard after taking a photograph near the Duchess of Sussex
The source claimed it was fortunate Andy Murray was playing on the same court after Serena, as she would not have been allowed in the Royal Box on Centre Court with jeans on- despite being a member of the royal family.
The former Suits actress sparked a huge row after her bodyguards told fans not to take pictures of her during the match.
She was branded ‘childish’ and a ‘control freak’ after former world champion Sally Jones revealed she was warned about taking pictures.
The former tennis star said she was forced to inform the ’embarrassed’ bodyguard she was trying to get a photograph of Serena and had no idea Meghan was there.
Mrs Jones told MailOnline the Duchess was ‘clearly looking around looking to see who was looking at her’, adding: ‘Harry and Meghan see themselves more as A-list celebrities rather than royals carrying out their duties. It’s control-freakery’.
She added: ‘There were around 200 photographers snapping away at her but security were sent to warn an old biddy like me. It makes them look silly. It’s childish and takes us for fools’.
Another spectator took a selfie of himself and Court 1 near her – but Meghan’s bodyguard also warned him about taking pictures in her vicinity.
Kensington Palace declined to comment on the controversy at the time – but a royal source told MailOnline: ‘It’s not uncommon for personal protection officers accompanying any members of the Royal Family to ask people not to take pictures so they can engage with people and events rather than camera phones’.
JULY 2019 – Wimbledon appearances with Kate ‘weren’t what they looked like’
Meghan Markle pictured sitting next to the Princess of Wales for the Wimbledon final in July 2019
Meghan Markle later revealed that her Wimbledon appearances with Kate weren’t always as friendly as they may seemed in an interview with Oprah
The following week, Meghan Markle returned to Wimbledon with the Princess of Wales and the royal’s sister Pippa Middleton.
At the time, it was believed the show of unity was to put any rumours of a feud to bed – but Meghan later revealed that her Wimbledon appearances with Kate weren’t always as friendly as they may seemed.
In her 2021 interview with Oprah, the interviewer asked the Duchess: ‘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?’
Pictured: Meghan Markle seen arriving at Wimbledon before she stepped down as a senior working royal
Meghan Markle 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’
Meghan started off by saying: ‘I think everyone welcomed me.’
But then she said: ‘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. ‘
The Duchess then went on to say that the royal family would advise her on what she should and shouldn’t do and how it may look to those outside of 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 that match in January 2020, Harry and Meghan went on to announce that they were leaving the royal family, and split their time between America and the UK, before moving there permanently.
