Where might Jeff Bezos, David Attenborough, the Princess of Wales, Kylie Minogue, Prince Albert of Monaco, Pep Guardiola, Bad Bunny, David Beckham, Samuel L Jackson, David Cameron, British daytime TV personality Mr Motivator, Sachin Tendulkar, Richard Branson, Alex Ferguson, assorted minor and not so minor members of the Royal Family, scientists, directors of the National Health Service, art historians, captains of industry, professors, doctors and James Bond all sit together?
It’s a ticket money can’t buy, an invite anyone can ask for but might not get, and if they aren’t wearing the right shoes then they won’t get in. On the upside? The best view in the house for the most famous tennis tournament in the world. Plus lunch.
The Royal Box at Wimbledon is an unending source of fascination for people ostensibly tuning in to watch some top-class sport, and for 2026, it has something new — an even stricter dress code.
Men have always been asked to wear a lounge suit or blazer and tie; for women, it’s “afternoon dress” (nothing above the knee) or an elegant trouser suit. Women are also asked not to wear hats, lest they obscure the view of those behind them. But this year, according to a dress code reviewed by The Athletic, women have been told that strapless, off-the-shoulder and spaghetti-strap attire is not permitted, with illustrations of appropriate and inappropriate wear for both men and women.
Lewis Hamilton fell foul of the clothing rules in 2015 when he was denied entry to the Royal Box after showing up without a jacket and tie, thus missing the men’s final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
A clutch of around 80 very comfortable and well-upholstered seats overlook Centre Court, which at one time was primarily used for the purpose its name suggests, to host royalty. Now it’s the place for the great and the good to be seen. And to see a bit of tennis.
Who decides who gets into the Royal Box at Wimbledon?
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The Royal Box has been at the south end of Centre Court since 1922 and according to the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) “is used for the entertainment of,” among others, “the Royal Family, the tennis world, individuals of distinction and others who in various ways contribute to the betterment of our lives and society.”
It was rebuilt in 2002 when the whole infrastructure of Centre Court was refurbished, which included a refresh of the “Clubhouse”, the place where guests gather when not watching the tennis.
Sounds good. Fancy going? Well, good luck. The middle Saturday, for example, is the preserve of legends of just about every sport. This year, Ben Ainslie (sailing), Alex Greenwood and Phil Foden (soccer), Tabitha Stoecker (skeleton) and many other stars showed up to be introduced ahead of the first match.
The invitation process is quite nebulous. There are no particular criteria and it’s essentially all decided by whoever is chair of the AELTC at the time, which has been Debbie Jevans since 2023. Under previous incumbent Ian Hewitt, there was a leaning away from a ‘celebrity’ focus, towards those who have done ‘good deeds’ for society.
The most prominent recent example of that was in 2021, the year after the Championships were postponed due to the pandemic, when Dame Sarah Gilbert was in the front row. Gilbert was one of the scientists responsible for developing the Covid-19 vaccine and was given a lengthy standing ovation when she was introduced to the crowd.
People who have recently been awarded honours for public service are frequently invited. Professor Irene Tracey, recipient of a CBE in 2022 for services to medical research, was there on the first Wednesday of 2023. The opening Monday saw Dame Ruth Beverley, awarded her title for services to higher education, in attendance.
It was a far cry from the tenure of one former chair, who many felt was fond of inviting a succession of handsome, eligible young bachelors, who would then be introduced to his daughters.
On the Tuesday of the 2023 tournament, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who spent six years in jail in Iran on erroneous charges of espionage, was present to watch Andy Murray’s first match of the tournament, accompanied by the lawyer who represented her while she was imprisoned. That was particularly poignant given her conversation with Murray, when she guest-edited the BBC Radio 4 programme Today, when she said that one of the few moments of joy and hope she had while in prison was when she briefly had a TV and was able to watch him win the tournament in 2016.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, behind the Princess of Wales and Roger Federer, during Murray’s win against Ryan Peniston in 2023 (Photo: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Something that was slightly misunderstood in the post-match interviews was the idea that Murray himself had invited Zaghari-Ratcliffe into the Royal Box. Which is sort of true: Murray, after the BBC discussion, was keen to invite her along to the Championships, but it was the organisers that upgraded her. They were keen to clarify that no individual can invite guests (not even Murray) and that it has to go through official channels.
There is always a famous face or two in there for the cameras to find — this is a marketing exercise, after all. Pierce Brosnan, Anna Wintour, Russell Wilson, Sam Mendes, Eddie Redmayne, Sienna Miller, Jude Law, Ian McKellen, Maggie Smith, Michael McIntyre: we could be here all day running through the stars that have attended down the years.
Royals are the big prize. The Princess of Wales is there most years (she’s a patron of the AELTC). That’s in addition to the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince Michael of Kent. The late Queen Elizabeth II used to be the tournament’s patron but, as far as anyone can remember, only actually attended twice.
Newspaper editors are often invited, presumably to curry a little favour and encourage publicity. Geordie Greig — editor of the UK’s Independent — was there in 2023; George Osborne attended in his role as editor of the Evening Standard in 2019. John Witherow, former editor of The Times of London, has been a regular.
Pep Guardiola and Leah Williamson acknowledge the crowd in 2024, as is traditional in the Royal Box on middle Saturday. (Andrej Isakovic /AFP via Getty Images)
Sports stars are routine attendees outside of the middle Saturday. In addition to Beckham, other big names from the world of football to attend in recent years include Gareth Southgate (busy this year), Jordan Henderson, Geoff Hurst, Bobby Charlton, and Alex Ferguson. The golfer Luke Donald was there last year; Rory McIlroy wore his Masters green jacket in 2026, like Sergio Garcia did after winning at Augusta in 2017. British Olympians like David Haye, Chris Hoy, Kelly Holmes, Nicola Adams and Jessica Ennis-Hill have been among the invitees.
You get drinks on arrival, served on the balcony behind Centre Court, which overlooks some of the smaller courts. If you’ve ever seen a Wimbledon champion display their trophy to the fans waiting below, that’s the balcony we mean. Lunch and more drinks follow, although guests are lightly encouraged not to get stuck into the booze too much. Lunch tends to be pretty high-end stuff — lobster, salmon, that sort of vibe — and then afternoon tea is served later on.
Obviously strawberries and cream, too, but not the strawberries the masses overpay for. These are a special, luxury variety called Driscoll Jubilee, according to The New York Times.
Other perks include a small gift and a commemorative photo. They even adjust the retractable Centre Court roof to keep the sun out of attendees’ eyes.
Denise Lewis won Olympic gold in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. (Aaron Chown / PA Images via Getty Images)
Getting an invite isn’t easy. Agents and PR representatives will frequently lobby to get their clients a prominent seat, which also leaves the organisers open to the occasional hoax, sort of like a turbo-charged version of trying to get a table at an exclusive restaurant under the name “Tom Cruise.” They’re alive to this sort of thing though: a few years ago a request was made in the name of a Hollywood star, but the organizers noted that the person in question was filming on another continent at the time, so the ruse was exposed.
You don’t really have to have expressed any serious interest in tennis to get an invite. You essentially just have to have caught the eye of the organising committee in some way, then one day an invite appears on your doormat.
The invitation reads: ‘The Chairman and Committee of Management of The Championships request the pleasure of the company of [insert name] & Guest in the Royal Box on [insert date].
‘This invitation to the Royal Box includes lunch in the Clubhouse prior to the commencement of play, afternoon tea and drinks at the end of the day.”
Often the invite list is peppered with those who have personal connections to the AELTC. Spouses of committee members are there most days. You get a plus-one, who are all detailed on the list that Wimbledon circulates to the media at the start of every day, which has ‘NOT TO BE PUBLISHED’ included prominently in the top right corner. The plus-ones are usually spouses or partners, but not always. Beckham usually brings his mum.
(David Beckham is a Royal Box regular. (Visionhaus / Getty Images)
“If he was not adequately dressed, you could infer that he would not have been let in,” sniffed a Wimbledon spokesperson at the time. “But we do not comment on our guests. If he came without a jacket, tie or shoes, he would have had two choices – not staying, or going to get some extra stuff.”
Alan Chalmers, who had handled Centre Court VIP security for nearly 40 years and was retiring after the tournament, didn’t hold back. “Wimbledon is not a beach in Marbella, it’s a major tennis tournament,” he said a few days later.
Get there on time, too. One year Pippa Middleton faced the awful shame of having to sit in a normal seat after showing up late.
But for anyone lucky enough to be invited into the inner sanctum, it’s a day to remember. They just need to remember their nice shoes.