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Kate Middleton left ‘mortified’ by dad’s awkward comment during Wimbledon appearance

Home> News> Royal Family

Published 12:27 4 Jul 2025 GMT+1

Kate Middleton left ‘mortified’ by dad’s awkward comment during Wimbledon appearance

Even members of the Royal family can't get away from the odd embarrassing moment or two from a relative

Jen Thomas

Jen Thomas

The Princess Of Wales was left cringing after a foot-in-mouth moment by her beloved dad with a tennis star.

The Royal Family are huge fans of Wimbledon, and Kate Middleton, in particular, is frequently spotted in the royal box on Centre Court enjoying a match.

Alongside strawberries and cream, broadcaster Sue Barker is synonymous with Wimbledon, having been at the centre of it all for almost thirty years.

She has interviewed many of the greats, and has lots of tales to tell about both the tennis stars and the celebrities who come to watch the legendary game, as well as the Royal Family.

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Back in 2017, Sue made a documentary for the BBC called Our Wimbledon.

She interviewed many big names for the programme, including Prince William and Kate Middleton, who is renowned for her love of tennis.

Kate opened up to Sue and shared a mortifying moment she remembers with affection involving her dad.

Kate was 'mortified' following a mix-up involving her dad, Michael (Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Kate was 'mortified' following a mix-up involving her dad, Michael (Karwai Tang/WireImage)

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The royal had attended Wimbledon with her father, Michael Middleton, who got two very famous tennis players mixed up.

Sue Barker 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.)“

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"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."

The Princess of Wales regularly attends Wimbledon with her family (Instagram/princeandprincessofwales)
The Princess of Wales regularly attends Wimbledon with her family (Instagram/princeandprincessofwales)

She then shared the mortifying moment with Sue.

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"She told me how mortified she was when her father once mistook Tim Henman for Pete Sampras.“

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"My father is not going to appreciate this, but we were walking past Tim Henman, and we had just seen Sampras play. And dad said very coolly, 'Hi Pete.' I was mortified!’” she joked.

That's not the only embarrassing moment to befall the Middletons, after Kate's sister Pippa was denied access to the royal box after breaking a rule.

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Pippa, along with her mother Carole, arrived fashionably late to Wimbledon back in 2017.

They had arrived hoping to join Kate in the special seats to catch the final of Andy Murray and Benoit Paire, but it seems that lateness is frowned upon in tennis.

As they failed to arrive on time, Pippa and Carole had to sit in normal seats behind the box instead.

There was another mortifying moment, when Pippa was accidentally blanked by a Wimbledon champion last year.

Featured Image Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage

Topics: Wimbledon, Kate Middleton, Royal Family

Jen Thomas
Jen Thomas

Jen Thomas is a freelance journalist and radio presenter for Magic Radio and Planet Rock, specialising in music and entertainment writing.

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@jenthomasradio

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