Sarah Ferguson Makes Her First Appearance in the Royal Box at Wimbledon in 37 Years

This time she was with daughter Princess Beatrice; the last time the Duchess of York sat in the Royal Box, it was alongside Princess Diana.

The Gist

• In the Royal Box for day 1 of Wimbledon on June 30 is the mother-daughter duo of Princess Beatrice and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York.
• It has been 37 years since Fergie sat in the Royal Box, when she did so in 1988 with sister-in-law and friend Princess Diana.
• Kate Middleton is expected to attend Wimbledon at some point before the tournament wraps in two weeks’ time.

Wimbledon is here! To kick off day 1 of the iconic tennis tournament, in the Royal Box on June 30 was the mother-daughter duo of Princess Beatrice and Sarah Ferguson—with Fergie making her first return to the Royal Box in 37 years. Though the Duchess of York has attended the tournament since, her last time in the Royal Box specifically was in 1988, when she sat alongside sister-in-law and friend Princess Diana.

For her appearance on Monday, Beatrice wore a striped set by Sandro Paris that featured floral cutouts; Ferguson wore a green floral print maxi dress from ME + EM. Both women adhered to the Wimbledon dress code, which dictates that ladies shouldn’t wear hats so as to avoid obstructing the view of those behind them.

Other boldfaced names in attendance today included David Beckham, Jason Isaacs, and Eddie Redmayne. After play is finished for the day, guests in the Royal Box—including Beatrice and Ferguson—are invited to the clubhouse for lunch, tea, and drinks, per Hello!.

The Duchess of York last attended the tournament 24 years ago in 2001, according to GB News. Also in attendance on Monday was Dara Huang, the ex-partner of Beatrice’s husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, who is currently in Australia on a work trip. Huang is the mother of Beatrice’s stepson Wolfie, whom she is extremely close to.

Ferguson has been attending more and more royal events as of late, including the royal family’s annual Christmas celebration at Sandringham and Easter services at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor. The Duchess of York hadn’t attended royal events since the 1990s, when she separated from Prince Andrew in 1992 and finalized their divorce in 1996.

Kate Middleton—as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club—is expected to make an appearance at the tournament sometime in the next two weeks. The Princess of Wales’s attendance at Wimbledon on July 14, 2024 was only her second public appearance of the entirety of the year following her cancer diagnosis, and a palace source speaking to People at the time said the appearance “will have given her sustenance. She has gone through something awful and stressful, and it is crucial to have little wins to look forward to or to give you the courage and energy to go forward. And this was it.”

Kate appeared alongside her sister Pippa Middleton and her daughter Princess Charlotte and seemed visibly moved by the standing ovation she received. “It showed a lot of courage and character, as she knew that the world was watching,” royal biographer Robert Jobson told People, adding that “Before, she used to live her life by the calendar, and now she is living her life, and the calendar comes in after.”

“She will be back, but when you have had an experience like this, it changes your perspective and the order of things,” he said.

In addition to being a fan of tennis in general, Kate is in particular a fan of Wimbledon. She said in a 2017 BBC documentary (via GB News), “I have watched Wimbledon—that was very much part of my growing up.”

The only time Kate has missed Wimbledon was in 2013, when she was heavily pregnant with Prince George (he would ultimately be born on July 22 of that year). “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,” she said.