Changes are afoot in the royal fashion landscape—Kate Middleton wore Dior for the first time for the French state visit on July 8, and King Charles, it seems, has relaxed a dress code policy at Buckingham Palace.
Per Town & Country, the King is shaking rules up at the palace, specifically when it comes to how to dress on the tennis court. Calling it “one less thing for players to stress over,” the publication noted that Charles is relaxing the all-white dress code for tennis players who are invited to the palace’s outdoor hard court.
The Buckingham Palace tennis court.
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According to The Times, the all-white look is still encouraged, but no longer required, and that the new rule goes for anyone playing—professional tennis players, members of the royal family, or even staff. In formerly requiring all-white tennis looks, the palace mirrored the dress code of Wimbledon, the iconic British tennis tournament which is ongoing (and still requires tennis whites). Tennis has long been a favorite sport of members of the royal family, with royals filling up the Royal Box almost every day as Wimbledon runs through two weeks of the summer.
Speaking of Wimbledon—like the Royal Household, it is a place filled with rules. In fact, as Town & Country pointed out, the tournament has a detailed list of nine rules players must follow before stepping onto the grass court, including the aforementioned all white rule, a sartorial requirement that dates back to the Victorian era.
Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe playing at Buckingham Palace.
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Anna Kournikova playing at Buckingham Palace.
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“The first Wimbledon tournament was held in 1877, and in those days, any kind of sweat was considered unseemly,” the outlet reported. “It was deemed that colorful clothing revealed sweat stains more easily than white clothing did.”
That said, like the palace, Wimbledon has relaxed its all-white rules, although “ever-so-slightly,” as Town & Country put it. In the past two years, women are now allowed to wear dark-colored undershorts.
Back to Buckingham Palace: the tennis court there was constructed in 1919 and has hosted many famous tennis players, like when King George VI played triple Wimbledon champion Fred Perry in the 1930s, or like in 2000, when Björn Borg and John McEnroe reprised their 1980 and 1981 Wimbledon finals in a charity match on the palace’s court.
Claudia Schiffer watching tennis at Buckingham Palace.
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Kate Middleton and Roger Federer on June 24, 2023.
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Buckingham Palace is undergoing significant refurbishments expected to last through 2027—and apparently the tennis court needs a little work, too. The Times reported that the surface of the tennis court has several potholes that cause competitors to stumble when in play.