Despite the intermittent rain and even the sound of thunder, VIPs have turned up in full force to witness another day of world class tennis at Wimbledon in the royal box.
As the name suggests, the box often houses members of the Royal Family, notably the Princess of Wales, patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Although Kate Middleton herself has so far not attended SW19 this year as she continues her recovery from cancer treatment, royals and other celebrities have attended in their dozens.
Today’s VIPs at centre court, who include Mary Berry, Gabby Logan and Richard Osman, will be hoping to see showstopping matches between Carlos Alcaraz and Ugo Humbert, and see Emma Raducanu take on Lulu Sun later this afternoon.
Here, FEMAIL reveals some of the high-profile guests in the Royal Box at Wimbledon today.
Australian tennis legend Rod, 85, is widely regarded as one of the all-time greats, having won 11 Grand Slams, including four Wimbledon men’s singles titles.
He even completed the Grand Slam (winning all four Grand Slams) twice, and was ranked as world number one from 1965 to 1969
He is a frequent attendee at Wimbledon, watching today’s tennis after himself winning 11 grand slams over the course of his career.
The Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne and the Laver Cup are both named after him.
He was spotted hugging British lawn and table tennis player Ann Jones CBE, who has eight grand slams under her belt.
Rod and his late wife Mary share one son, Rick.
Ann Jones
Ann Jones, 85, is tennis royalty – as the former player has won a whopping eight Grand Slam championships in her career.
Last year, she became the Vice President of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
As an athlete she was known for her prowess in lawn tennis.
Author Richard Osman is best known for co-presenting quiz show Pointless and is the author of the Thursday Murder Club book series.
He has since presented BBC Two quiz shows Two Tribes and Richard Osman’s House Of Games.
The best-selling novelist, 53, was joined at Wimbledon by his wife Ingrid Oliver, 47, whom he married in December 2022.
The couple, who now live in West London, met when she was a contestant on his House of Games quiz show in 2020.
Ingrid is best known for her role as Petronella Osgood in Doctor Who.
After falling for each other during the summer of 2020, Ingrid subsequently moved into Osman’s south-west London home that October.
Their relationship finally became public knowledge in November 2021, when they stepped out together holding hands in London during a shopping trip.
In December 3, 2022, the couple tied the knot in a ‘magical’ ceremony at Goodwood House, the Duke of Richmond’s West Sussex seat.
Mexican, American and French actress and film producer Salma Hayek has starred in films including Marvel’s Eternals, Grown Ups and House Of Gucci.
She is often cited as one of Hollywood’s most powerful and influential Latina actresses.
Hayek brought some Hollywood glamour to SW19 on Sunday, as she was joined by her husband François-Henri Pinault in the Royal Box on day seven of Wimbledon at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
The actress, 57, cut a sophisticated figure in a navy tweed blazer and a pair of matching trousers, as the couple made their way to their seats.
The actress and the 61-year-old CEO of Kerring – who has a reported net worth of $7 billion – got engaged in March 2007.
After a nearly two-year engagement, they tied the knot in Paris on February 14, 2009, renewing their vows just a few months later in Italy.
Cooking legend Mary Berry, 89, was a judge on The Great British Bake Off alongside Paul Hollywood until 2016, when the programme moved from the BBC to Channel 4 and she was replaced by Prue Leith.
Still fighting fit as she approaches her 90s, Mary is still writing and recently released a cookbook.
Dame Mary has been married to Paul Hunnings, a retired antiquarian bookseller who also worked in the wine trade, for 56 years. And while she’s still working at a prodigious pace, her husband’s life is rather more leisurely.
The close family ties around which their lives pivot are doubly cherished because they lost a son, William, who was killed, aged 19, in a car crash in 1989. His sister Annabel, travelling with him, was mercifully spared.
Now they hold close Annabel, their son Tom and five grandchildren – twins Abby and Grace, 19; grandsons Louis, 18, and Hobie, 16, and 12-year-old Atalanta – who visit often.
Mary has published more than 75 cookery books over her career.
Frank Gardner, 62, is a defence correspondent for the BBC, an author and a retired British Army Reserve officer.
Since the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City in 2001, he has specialised in covering stories surrounding the war on terror.
He joined BBC World in 1995, becoming the corporation’s first full-time gulf correspondent in 1997, and Middle East correspondent in 1999.
In 2004, while reporting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Gardner was shot six times and seriously injured by Al-Qaida attackers. His cameraman Simon Cumbers was shot dead.
The attack damaged his spinal nerves, leaving him partially paralysed. He now uses a wheelchair, but is a keen skier and is a Patron of Disability Snowsport UK.
He returned to reporting in mid-2005 and is the author of thriller books.
Sports presenter Gabby Logan, 51, looked radiant in a purple maxi dress, as she attended SW19 on day seven of the tournament.
Gabby has recently spoken openly about her and Kenny’s sex life following his prostate removal.
The former Scottish rugby international was diagnosed with cancer in February 2022 after Gabby urged him to go to the doctors.
And on Thursday, she told The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio that they had to have a discussion about him potentially not having an erection again because that can be affected after treatment.
She confirmed that for them, it eventually came back but admitted that she wasn’t that ‘patient’ about it.
Kenny and presenter Gabby have been married for over 22 years and share twins Lois and Reuben, who were born after IVF treatment.
A former international gymnast, Gabby began her broadcasting career in radio in 1992 before joining Sky Sports in 1996 and ITV in 1998. She met Kenny a year later.
Former rugby player Gavin Hastings was a fullback who captained Scotland and won 61 caps.
He also played for British Lions, with whom he toured Australia and is a successful businessman who was awarded the OBE in 1994.
He now spends a lot of his time helping raise awareness of Parkinson’s as his wife Diane was diagnosed with the disease in 2003.
Hastings, 62, has climbed Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, in his fundraising efforts.
The couple’s son, Adam Hastings, also plays rugby.
Adele Emily Sandé, best known as Emeli Sande, released her first solo single in Heaven and has since gone on to conquer the music world.
The Clown singer performed at the opening and closing ceremonies of the London Olympics in 2012, catapulting her to fame.
The Sunderland-born singer was even awarded an MBE in 2017.
She came out as being in a same-sex relationship in 2022 and is engaged to classical pianist Yoana Karemova – though the couple postponed their wedding in November 2023.
