Princess Beatrice and Sienna Miller were among famous faces in the Royal Box on Tuesday as the quarter-finals got underway at Wimbledon.
Drizzle fell across SW19 following a very wet start to the Championships, suspending play across the uncovered outer courts.
But as many visitors huddled beneath umbrellas, beneath the closed roof of Centre Court a host of familiar faces from royalty to acting royalty assembled to watch top seed Jannik Sinner go head-to-head with Daniil Medvedev.
Sienna Miller, 42, was pictured in the Royal Box with boyfriend and fellow actor Oli Green, with whom she has a seven-month-old baby.
Princess Beatrice was also pictured there with her property developer husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, whom she married in 2020.
Singer Sir Cliff Richard was also seated in the box, as well as actor and author Stephen Fry, who was pictured in a cream linen suit beside actress Lena Dunham.
They were joined by Olympic gold medallist rower Sir Steve Redgrave, and his wife Lady Ann Redgrave, along with journalist couple Adrian Chiles and Katharine Viner, and comedian Michael McIntyre.
Also spotted at Wimbledon on Tuesday - day nine of the Championships - were singer and TV presenter Myleene Klass, and former Love Island star Olivia Attwood.
Tuesday was due to provide a gripping afternoon of tennis, with the Wimbledon quarter-finals beginning with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz facing stern tests.
The duo have been on a semi-final collision course since they were paired in the same half of the draw, but their championship mettle will first be tested by fifth seed Daniil Medvedev and American Tommy Paul.
Top seed Jannik Sinner was due to take on Daniil Medvedev, while Reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz was also due to face American 12th seed Tommy Paul, to battle for a semi-final spot.
Four first-time quarter-finalists were also taking to the court in the women’s draw on Tuesday, with one of them guaranteed to be in the final.
They were seventh seed Jasmine Paolini, Croatian Donna Vekic, American Emma Navarro, and New Zealander Lulu Sun who beat Emma Raducanu on Sunday to secure a quarter-final spot.
As of around 2.15pm, play had yet to begin on any of the courts bar Centre Court and Court One, which have roofs.
Greater London had by Monday been drenched by 86 per cent of its average monthly rainfall, according to Met Office data - more than three times the amount that would typically be seen by that point.
The boss of Wimbledon has blamed the “terrible” weather for low attendance at the Championships this year, following downpours at the weekend and more rain due in the capital this week.
Yet Wimbledon organisers said they are confident the tournament will finish on time despite the wet forecast and delays to play.
The soggy start to summer follows the UK’s wettest spring since 1986 and the sixth wettest on record.
The recent damp weather has been paired with chilly conditions.
The Met Office recorded the average temperature for the first week of July as 12.9C – some 2.4C below the month’s long-term average.
A host of famous names from Sir David Attenborough to David Beckham have been hosted in the Royal Box during the Championships so far. Read more here.
