They may be related to royalty, but Carole and Pippa Middleton no doubt understood that Roger Federer is the king of Wimbledon as they reunited with the ‘greatest of all time’ in SW19 yesterday. 

The Princess of Wales’s mother and sister were effortlessly glamorous as they arrived for day eight of The Championships on Monday, which saw rising Brit ace Arthur Fery defeat Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in a five-set nailbiter to advance to the quarter-finals. 

Seated in the Royal Box, Carole, 71, and Pippa, 42, appeared delighted to see the eight-time Wimbledon champion, believed to be close friends with the Middleton clan. 

Although Carole and Pippa were seated behind Federer, 44, in the second row, that did not stop him from turning around to chat with the duo before the group headed up to the famous Champions’ balcony in the Clubhouse. 

However, their catch-up was interrupted when Federer politely excused himself to wave at screaming fans, as Carole and Pippa appeared just as enamoured by the ‘ultimate gentleman of tennis’. 

Footage posted on Instagram showed Pippa and Carole beaming as Federer sat down at the table amid a chorus of ‘thank you, Roger’ from the fans below. 

While the Princess of Wales, who visited a children’s hospital in London yesterday, was absent, Catherine has previously revealed that the Swiss ace is ‘my mother’s heartthrob’ while commenting on the family’s years-long friendship with Federer. 

Speaking in the 2017 BBC documentary, Sue Barker: Our Wimbledon, the then-Duchess of Cambridge said: ‘Roger is my mother’s heartthrob. I don’t think she will mind me saying that! I think he probably knows that too.’

Carole and Pippa Middleton seated behind Roger Federer in the front row of the Royal Box at Wimbledon yesterday 

The group headed up to the famous Champions’ balcony in the Clubhouse, as a video showed Pippa chatting animatedly with the eight-time Wimbledon champion 

The Swiss tennis superstar has been friends with the Middletons for many years, and Roger and his wife, Mirka, also attended Pippa’s wedding to James Matthews in 2017. 

Over the years, Federer and Pippa have been spotted enjoying several dinners with Carole in London.  

It is believed Pippa struck up a friendship with Roger after meeting him at Wimbledon and interviewed him for Vanity Fair magazine in 2013. 

Kate’s sister, as a contributing editor for the magazine, quizzed Roger about his breakfast preferences (‘eggs with toast, cinnamon porridge with berries, and roasted nuts’) and ‘how many tennis balls do you hit a day?’ (‘a few thousand’). 

After the video of Federer with Carole and Pippa at Wimbledon yesterday was posted on Instagram, fans praised the ‘charming’ former world number one, adding: ‘What an amazing player and gentleman.’ 

Carole and Pippa made a rare joint appearance at Wimbledon on day eight of the tennis tournament. 

The mother and sister of the future Queen were seen arriving at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club grounds in London yesterday, as Pippa clutched a straw hat to shield herself from the bright sunshine. 

She served courtside glamour in a £278 Reformation Naira Dress in the shade ‘dolly dot’, which she paired with sunglasses and white statement heels. 

Meanwhile, Carole was a vision in white as she stepped out in a fit-and-flare maxi dress from royal-approved brand Me+Em, which she wore with a blue blazer from Catherine Walker. 

She finished the look with a tan Longchamp bag worth £612 and £495 slingback heels from the brand Emmy London. 

Both Pippa and Carole have been documented to be lifelong tennis enthusiasts, and are regular fixtures at the Wimbledon Championships.

Carole and Pippa’s first appearance at SW19 this year comes just a few days after the Princess of Wales ditched the Royal Box to take in the action on Court Number One.

The royal tennis superfan was seen gasping and putting her hands over her face during a tense match on Thursday.

The Princess – who is a keen player herself and often hands the trophy to the winner at the end of the tournament – was joined by tennis royalty in SW19, sitting next to the likes of Sir Andy Murray and Tim Henman on a glorious summer day.

A tennis aficionado, Kate’s search for the most exciting matches at the All England Club took her to Court Number One and Court 18 as she broke with tradition and avoided the prime seats on Centre Court.

Earlier she smiled as she chatted to members of the public who had joined the queue for Wimbledon tickets in the early hours of the morning.

She also helped hand out grounds passes to tennis fans, some of whom had camped overnight in Wimbledon Park to secure coveted access to the tournament.

Kate posed for selfies with members of the public, affectionately putting her arm around one woman who was holding her phone in one hand and her queue card in the other.

She was also overheard telling two attendees ‘have a really fun time’ as she handed them their tickets.

The Princess greeted those who had been waiting for entry into SW19 and hailed the queue as an ‘accessible’ entry point.

Speaking to two excited children, Kate asked them if they were big tennis fans, to which they smiled and nodded.

One attendee congratulated the princess on her recent Three Peaks challenge.

Kate donned an elegant blue linen suit from Gabriela Hearst for the occasion, which she paired with a white top from H&M and Ralph Lauren sunglasses.

She wore her hair in a ponytail and finished off the outfit with a pair of moonstone and lapis ‘Stella’ drop earrings from Carousel Jewels with an oval royal-blue gemstone.

In a break from tradition, Kate did not sit in the Royal Box but watched one of the matches on the outside courts alongside former British number one Tim Henman

As a royal patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club since 2016, Kate is a regular fixture at the prestigious tournament.

She has attended most years since 2011, missing only 2013, when she was pregnant with Prince George, and 2020, when the tournament was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.