There’s only a few days left of Wimbledon and it’s already brought out some familiar faces.
One of those being Meghan Markle who, according to recent reports, caused quite the stir when asking fans not to photograph her.
RELATED STORIES
As you can imagine, it didn’t go over well …
With only a few days left of the famous sporting event, Wimbledon has been in full swing.
It’s the oldest tennis championship in the world — one that causes celebs and royals to frequent.
This past weekend, Meghan Markle took a break from her mom duties to attend the event.
Her newborn son wasn’t far away, though, as she had on a necklace with the letter “A” for Archie.
Awww.
She was there cheering on close friend and tennis superstar, Serena Williams!
Meghan must have been her good luck charm since Serena’s been crushing it on the courts.
Unfortunately, the reason for her being there (i.e to support for her friend) quickly got overshadowed with drama.
People were none too pleased when Meghan reportedly asked fans to abstain from taking photos of her.
Sally Jones was one of the people reportedly asked by a royal protection officer to not snap pics of Markle.
She recently spoke to the Daily Telegraph , per the Express about what happened.
“I think this royal protection officer was quite embarrassed,” she began.
“He appeared a bit mystified as to why he was being asked to make such a request.”
Thing is, a source for the palace explained why this request for privacy isn’t strange at all.
While speaking to the Daily Telegraph , the source said:
“It’s not unusual for people accompanying Members of the Royal Family at private, or public, events to ask members of the public not to take photographs.”
“It is to enable Members of the Royal Family to engage with people and events.”
Let them live in peace, peeps!
Regardless of this logic, Markle has been on the receiving end of a *ton* of backlash.
The photo incident has not been going over well, especially with the British media.
Some people claimed that Meghan has just brought more negative attention onto herself.
Some people claim that if Meghan had simply posed for a few photos, this story wouldn’t have happened, so it would’ve been less intrusive into her life in the long run.
No surprise here: Piers Morgan lashed out at Meghan.
He told the new mom to “go back to America.”
Piers also went off on Meghan on Twitter.
Piers said Meghan should “keep it simple, keep it humble, keep it sincere, keep it public in public,” and added that she should “keep her moaning mouth shut” if she wanted respect.
People even criticized the outfit Meghan’s wore to the tennis match.
She had on a hat, blazer, and blue jeans.
If Meghan had been sitting in the royal box (the seating area the royals frequent), then there would have been an issue.
The royal box has a strict dress code.
Reportedly even some Wimbledon officials weren’t pleased.
According to The Times , one official said of Meghan’s attendance that, “It was a nightmare, she was a nightmare.”
However, it looks like the venue wasn’t happy with those remarks.
Speaking to W Magazine , the official spokespeople for the club said, “Any suggestion that the duchess’s visit was anything other than a privilege for the club is categorically not the view of the club, and she is always welcome to attend the championships.”
But Meghan wasn’t seated in the royal box; she was at Court No.1.
Clearly, this makes their clothing argument completely redundant.
Did Meghan break the dress code, though?
There’s no dress code for regular spectators of the match, so for where she was sitting, she wouldn’t need to adhere to any sort of code. For the Royal Box, attendees must be wearing a dress or a jacket and tie.
Last year, Meghan was in the Royal Box, and not in a dress.
Meghan wore a striped button down shirt and cream-colored slacks, which makes it pretty clear that the rules for the Royal Box’s dress code are not as strictly enforced as you might think.
Now, some people are changing their tune. They believe that Meghan *was* fine with fans taking her picture.
The public’s opinion on Meghan has been going back and forth like — dare we say it — tennis balls.
Some people pointed out Meghan was interacting with people.
She shook a young boy’s hand and spoke to multiple people at length while she was there, which is honestly more interaction than I usually have when I leave my house.
It’s good to see that the Duchess has been receiving some understanding and support.
This fan makes a good point!
Maybe Markle was just being a good friend to Serena?
Finally, the last point is important to note: Meghan was at the event in a private capacity.
This means that her privacy was expected from the get-go.
Not to mention, after her wedding was watched by millions of people, doesn’t she deserve to watch a tennis game in peace?
Some fans pointed out a similarity between Meghan and Serena.
Whether it’s tennis or navigating the world of the media, it does look like both Meghan Markle and Serena Williams are always going to be champs.
