Kate Middleton ditched royal custom with Prince George and Princess Charlotte at Wimbledon
Topics: Royal Family, Wimbledon, Kate Middleton, Princess Charlotte
Jen Thomas
Featured Image Credit: Andrew Matthews / POOL / AFP via Getty Image
Topics: Royal Family, Wimbledon, Kate Middleton, Princess Charlotte
The Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, has raised eyebrows with a casual introduction of two of her children at Wimbledon recently.
The Princess is a renowned fan of tennis, and she recently shocked fans by arriving to greet them in the queue, posing for selfies and even spending time scanning tickets for excited attendees.
A regular in a box on the iconic Centre Court, Kate regularly appears at the tennis tournament with her children, and she has shunned a royal custom on a recent visit.
The future monarch was overheard introducing her eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, to tennis star Arthur Fery at Wimbledon.
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The trio had been taking in the men’s singles final on July 12 in the Royal Box at Centre Court, as they watched Jannik Sinner claim victory.
Before the start of the match, Kate, a patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, shook hands with the ball boys and girls as well as the officials and players.
In footage of the moment, the Princess is heard referring to the children as George and Charlotte, without using their official titles.
It is said that the children also forego their titles while at school.
They inherited the Prince and Princess titles at birth, as well as being addressed as His or Her Royal Highness.
Their official titles are HRH Prince George of Wales, HRH Princess Charlotte of Wales and HRH Prince Louis of Wales, iit is very unusual for them to use the full names.
At school, their surname is 'Wales', borrowed from the title of their parents.
It follows the tradition, as Prince William and Prince Harry were also called William Wales and Harry Wales while at school and in the military.
The Prince and Princess of Wales seem keen to move with the times.
The couple attended a lunch hosted by a charity called Centrepoint, and guests were given a laminated protocol card.
It said to call them 'Your Royal Highness' for the first first greeting, followed by “Sir” or “Ma’am.”
It even clarified the correct way to say Ma'am, to rhyme “tram.”
One attendee, Chelsea Jenkins, said she joked with Prince William about the instructions. “He just laughed about it, he said something about updating it.”
A Royal insider told PEOPLE that Kate's upbringing has a lot to do with it: “Those children look pretty happy with life, a lot of it is the stabilising normality Kate brings — and that’s how she grew up. William absolutely loves it.”
“Coming from a different background, she appreciates the importance of having family time. She wasn’t brought up in that aristocratic setting where you see the children for a short time each day.”