- Lewis Hamilton once fell foul of Wimbledon’s strict royal box dress code
- The Formula One star tried to enter in a flamboyant floral shirt and was told no
- Mail Sport also recounts how one royal relative was denied entry to the box
Wimbledon is a competition steeped in tradition – and sometimes you can fall on the wrong side of it.
It is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and as such, Wimbledon likes to cling to its quaint practices.
There’s an official five-page guide to queueing, a strict all-white dress code for its stars, and it’s the only Grand Slam which has stuck to grass – cut to eight inches, to be precise.
Of course, modernity has nibbled away at some of its time-honoured customs. This year is the first with electronic line calling, doing away with line judges after 147 years of decisions being made by the human eye.
One aspect which you imagine will retain its tradition and regulations is Centre Court’s royal box, which has enterained A-listers since 1922.
Lewis Hamilton learned the hard way in 2015 that any infraction of the rules is frowned upon, no matter how great your status.
By then, he had won two of his seven Formula One drivers’ titles, and was on course to claim his third that season.
But none of that counted for anything when he turned up at the royal box for the men’s singles final without the required jacket and tie.
Decked out in a flamboyant floral shirt, grey pants, camel-coloured suede shoes, and a fedora, Hamilton was told he was not allowed to enter.
‘Lewis arrived and it hadn’t been communicated to him by his assistants that it was a jacket and tie,” said former chief executive of the All England Club Richard Lewis in a statement for Sky Sports News.
‘It was all very harmonious and we’ve made it clear to Lewis already that he’d be more than welcome to come back to the Royal Box in the future – and I’m sure he will.’
Things turned out okay for the speedster from Stevenage – a space was found for him in a hospitality section.
Earlier in the day, Hamilton had posted a photo showing his Royal Box invitation package, saying he was ‘honoured’ to have received it.
He wrote: ‘On my way to Wimbledon to watch the final. Honoured to have been invited to watch the men’s finals from the Royal Box.’
A Wimbledon spokesman said: ‘If he was not adequately dressed you could infer that he would not have been let in, 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.’
Men who are invited to the exclusive box on Centre Court must wear a jacket, tie and shoes.
An All England Club spokesman said: ‘We can confirm that he is not in the Royal Box but won’t comment any further.’
A spokesman for Hamilton said: ‘Due to an unfortunate misunderstanding regarding dress code at Wimbledon, Lewis is very disappointed to have missed the men’s final [though he did get in a hospitality area].’
The rules pull no punches. In 2017, Pippa Middleton and her mother Carole were denied entry after turning up late.
