Why Didn't Tennis Players Curtsy to Queen Camilla at Wimbledon?

Queen Camilla was in attendance at Wimbledon yesterday, but despite her presence in the royal box, tennis players didn't curtsy or bow to her.

There's a pretty straightforward reason as to why: Twenty years ago, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, decided that players no longer needed to curtsy or bow to royals that weren't the sovereign or the heir to the throne. (He was the president of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which hosts Wimbledon.) That means the only royals to receive that honor were, at the time, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles. Seeing as neither really attended Wimbledon (the late Queen only went a handful of times, and Charles has only been twice), it meant that the tradition of bowing or curtsying to the royal box largely fell by the wayside.

However, that could change soon: Prince William, as heir to the throne, regularly attends the tournament with his wife, Kate Middleton, the patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. In fact, there's a good chance William will be in attendance this weekend for one of the finals. Whether or not players will bow or curtsy to the Prince of Wales, then, remains to be seen.

Queen Camilla remained unbothered, however, and seemed to have a grand time at the tournament alongside her sister, Annabel Elliot. Numerous royals were in attendance yesterday at Wimbledon, including Prince Albert of Monaco, and Princess Anne's kids Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, along with their significant others Mike Tindall and Lindsay Wallace, respectively.

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