Duke of Kent Helps to Modernize Wimbledon

The scoreboards at Wimbledon have undergone a change. They are no longer listing the names of the players with “Miss” or “Mrs.” (or even Ms.). In the past, female players have been listed with “Mrs.” or “Miss” before their names on the scoreboards, but men have never had a title before their names. A spokesman for the prestigious tennis tournament said, “We decided to bring it in line with the men”, according to a recent article in the Daily Mail.

In addition to dropping the titles, players no longer have to bow to the royal box when entering and leaving Centre Court. This change was brought about by the Duke of Kent, who is the patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. When asked about this change, the Duke stated that “it no longer fitted in with the modern game”.

Not all royal protocol has been abandoned though. Female players are still expected to curtsy to the Queen and the Prince of Wales, if they are present at Wimbledon. The Queen has not attended the tournament since 1977, and the Prince of Wales last attended in 1970; however, there is a lot of speculation (and hoping) that the Queen will attend if Andy Murray advances to the finals.

For more information about Wimbledon, please visit this website.

To read about, and to discuss the Duke of Kent, please visit this thread.

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged Bowing & Curtseying, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Patronage, Protocol, Sport, The Duke of Kent, Wimbledon.