'Mortified' Princess Kate left blushing after dad Michael Middleton's faux pas at Wimbledon

The Princess of Wales made her first appearance at Wimbledon for 2026 on Thursday, surprising royal fans in the queue and watching the action on the outside courts. 

Kate, 44, who is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, and her family are known to be huge tennis fans and are frequent visitors to SW19. 

Often, she is pictured in the Royal Box on Centre Court with her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, and in recent years, she's started to bring her daughter, tennis-fan Princess Charlotte, 11, along too.

Back in 2017, during an appearance on BBC documentary, Sue Barker: Our Wimbledon, Kate shared some insightful anecdotes about her tennis-loving family - including one moment when her dad Michael left her feeling "mortified".

She recalled the moment her father tried to play it cool in front of the former British number one tennis player Tim Henman, telling broadcaster Sue: "My father is not going to appreciate this but we were walking past Tim Henman and we had just seen Sampras play. My dad said very coolly, 'Hi Pete'. I was mortified!"

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Speaking about her love for the sport, Kate said: "I have watched Wimbledon, that was very much part of my growing up. It's such a quintessential part of the English summer, and I think it really inspires youngsters, myself, it inspired me when I was younger to get involved in the game. It hasn't changed either, I think that's what's so wonderful."

Laughing, Kate also revealed: "Roger [Federer] is my mother's heartthrob. I don't think she will mind me saying that! I think he probably knows that too."

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Michael, 77, was seen most recently at Royal Ascot racecourse in Berkshire last month, enjoying a rare public date day with his wife, Carole, ahead of their 46th wedding anniversary. 

It was the first time he'd been seen in public since Kate's Together at Christmas carol service. 

It's not been confirmed whether he will attend Wimbledon yet this year; however, his daughter Kate wasted no time and already made her first appearance in week one of the tournament.