Kate Middleton left 'mortified' over dad's remark to British tennis icon at Wimbledon
Kate Middleton is known to be a huge lover of tennis and is a regular spectator in the Wimbledon royal box. As patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club since 2016, the Princess of Wales attends the annual sporting event each year and traditionally presents trophies to the Wimbledon champions.
In addition to this, Kate usually serves some of the most iconic outfits on the courts with fans waiting in anticipation to see which fashionable looks she will wear during her appearances at the 2025 tournament this week.
While Kate's presence at Wimbledon is considered to be an important addition to the event, the mum-of-three has confessed that she was previously left absolutely "mortified" by a comment her father Michael Middleton made while he attended the prestigious tournament.
The Middleton family have all made it clear they are big fans on Wimbledon on multiple occasions. However Kate, 43, previously recalled an embarrassing experience with her father that left her pink faced at the 2017 BBC documentary Our Wimbledon hosted by Sue Barker.
During her work on the 2017 BBC One documentary 'Our Wimbledon', the BBC broadcaster travelled around the globe to discover what makes the All England Club grass so special for tennis lovers. During her research, she interviewed Kate who shared the embarrassing incident with her father which had happened years before she married Prince William.
During the interview, the future Queen explained how her dad had tried and failed to stay cool when they crossed paths with former British number one tennis player Tim Henman.
Unfortunately, her dad Michael made a huge blunder during the moment and confused Henman with 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras.
Kate told Barker: "My father is not going to appreciate this, but we were walking past Tim Henman and we had just seen Pete Sampras play. My dad said very coolly: 'Hi Pete'. I was mortified!"
Barker recounted the tale in her 2024 book, ' Wimbledon: A Personal History ', which provides her views on the major tournament, from her days as a junior competitor to her retirement from broadcasting over half a century later in 2022.
The BBC broadcaster, 69, wrote: 'During the filming of my Our Wimbledon documentary, I interviewed both the Duke of Kent and Catherine, now Princess of Wales.
'Catherine was so lovely to talk to too. I waited in a room in Kensington Palace with producer Carl Doran and the camera crew.
'We were all a bit on edge and then in she came and put us all at ease, even saying she was a bit nervous as she hadn't given many interviews. (I'm sure she said that to make me feel better.)
'She was a natural in front of the camera and what came across in the interview was her obvious love for the game from an early age.
'Tennis is a family passion and the Middletons came to queue and watch Wimbledon most years. She told me how mortified she was when her father once mistook Tim Henman for Pete Sampras."
Thankfully since that embarrassing encounter, Kate has had plenty more opportunities to meet Henman and rectify her dad's past blunder.
As a regular attendee of high-profile matches, she is often seen sitting in the Royal Box and even made an unexpected appearance last year amid her cancer treatment.
Kate also presents the tournament's finalists with their trophies, the most recent recipient being men's singles champion Carlos Alcaraz in 2024.
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