A royal insider has revealed the true meaning behind Sarah Ferguson’s surprise appearance inside the royal box at Wimbledon.
The second week of the iconic Grand Slam at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club began on Monday, with all eyes on the exclusive royal box on Centre Court.
The oak-lined royal box was established in 1922 and has played host to a glittering array of royals, celebrities and dignitaries in its century-long history.
But the exclusive box, which seats around 80 people, also comes with rules, including a strict dress code enforced by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
The iconic club is not above disciplining the same royals it caters for, with the Duchess of Kent once famously threatening to boycott the box altogether.
In 1999, the Duchess of Kent was denied permission to bring the child of a bereaved friend into the royal box and later received a letter from the club chair reminding her of a rule banning non-royal children from the box.
Last week, Fergie made a surprise appearance inside the box for the first time in over three decades in the latest sign the Duchess of York is back in the fold.
Fergie looked stylish in a green floral maxi dress by ME + EM as she watched Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz defeat Italy’s Fabio Fognini.
The Duchess of York, who attended alongside her daughter HRH Princess Beatrice, last sat in the royal box in 1990 while still a working royal.
Meanwhile, her former husband Prince Andrew has not been invited into the box since 2018, the year prior to a disastrous BBC Newsnight interview which ended his public life.
It is possible Fergie’s surprise cameo has paved the way for the Duke of York to return to the royal box, just months after the palace airbrushed the Yorks out of a royal event.
In April, the Duke and Duchess of York were both painstakingly cropped out of official photos taken at Easter Matins service.
Entry to the section at the south end of Centre Court is by invitation only, with the Chair of the All England Club officially in charge of seating assignments in the box.
Nevertheless, the royal family is understood to hold significant sway about who makes the cut, especially on days when senior royals are planning to attend matches.
According to The Daily Mail’s royal editor, Rebecca English, Ferguson’s surprise appearance was the direct result of King Charles’ intervention on his former sister-in-law’s behalf.
“I think it shows a sign of how magnanimous King Charles has been,” Ms English said on Sunday.
“He’s made it clear that he will continue his mother’s attempts to bring (Fergie) slightly more back into the royal fold.”
After her divorce from Prince Andrew, Ferguson attended Wimbledon in 2000 but sat outside the box with the general public.
Ms English claimed the invite was a token of goodwill from the King following Fergie’s recent cancer battles.
“She’s obviously had a lot of health battles over the last few years and actually is a well of support to his brother, Prince Andrew,” Ms English said.
As a divorced member of the royal family, Fergie’s closeness to the monarchy has ebbed and flowed since her split from Prince Andrew in 1992.
Fergie’s public scandals were rumoured to be the reason why she was not invited to Prince William’s wedding to Princess Catherine in 2011.
Seven years later, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did extend an invite to Harry’s “favourite aunt”.
It has often been claimed that the Duchess of York was persona non grata at any family occasion involving Prince Philip because he “refused to be in the same room” as Ferguson.
Meanwhile, the late Queen Elizabeth II did continue to extend rare invites for Fergie to appear at occasions like Royal Ascot and select private family events.
Charles has noticeably taken a more friendly approach to his former sister-in-law, who he has known since childhood and still affectionately calls “Fergie”, including invites to Easter Sunday service and Christmas at Sandringham.