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Catherine, Princess of Wales, fondly recalled attending the Wimbledon tennis tournament with her father, Michael Middleton, during an interview for the BBC’s *Our Wimbledon* documentary with Sue Barker.
Kate Middleton shared her memories of watching Wimbledon throughout her life and recounted a humorous incident where her father mistakenly greeted a professional player. “I can remember actually walking past Tim Henman,” she laughed, “and we had just seen [Pete] Sampras play. My dad, as he came past, said very coolly: ‘Hi Pete.’ I was like, ‘Dad! You can’t do that!’ Utterly—I was mortified!”
Despite this mix-up, Kate continued to bring Michael to Wimbledon in later years. In 2021, they were photographed together watching the men’s final events on the last day of the tournament.
The two even joined other attendees in doing the wave. Afterward, Kate shared her experience on X, formerly Twitter: “It was amazing to see the atmosphere and support from the fans echoing through Centre Court once again.”
Sports have been a strong bonding activity for Michael and Kate. As the patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Catherine, Princess of Wales, plays a prominent role at Wimbledon, including presenting trophies to the singles winners and watching matches from the Royal Box with her family and friends.
Not only do Kate and Michael enjoy watching tennis together, but they’ve also played the sport together. It’s been reported that Michael is the one who taught her how to play.
The father-daughter duo seem to have a close relationship, and tennis isn’t the only active pursuit they’ve shared. In a 2021 blog post for Hoka written by Kate’s sister, Pippa Middleton, she mentioned that Kate and Michael had climbed a challenging mountain together: “My parents inspired my love for walking in the mountains, and both joined me and my brother to the first hut when we climbed Mont Blanc (my father summited it with my sister a few years before).”