The Royal Box rejoiced in a serious royal presence for the men’s semi-final between No.1 seed Novak Djokovic, who reigns supreme in the list of recent Wimbledon champions, and Britain’s newly crowned tennis princeling Cameron Norrie.

Her Majesty The Queen has honoured the All England Club with her presence only four times – in 1957, 1962, 1977 and 2010 – but other members of her family are regular attendees.

The former President of the All England Club, HRH The Duke of Kent, was again present today, with his son, the Earl of St Andrews, and grandson Columbus Taylor.

They were joined by HRH The Duchess of Gloucester, HRH Princess Beatrice with her husband Edo Mapelli Mozzi, James Ogilvy (son of Princess Alexandra), the Earl of Snowdon (son of Princess Margaret), and HRH Princess Michael of Kent, who was accompanied by Lady Annabel Goldsmith.

Two of Chairman Ian Hewitt’s thespian guests were well qualified to appreciate the royal turnout.

First, there was Rami Malek, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Queen’s Freddie Mercury in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (a celebration of a band whose version of the national anthem is now de rigueur at royal jubilee parties at Buckingham Palace).

Alongside him in a Lloyd Loom wicker throne, sorry, chair was Régé-Jean Page who, as Bridgerton’s Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings, is very familiar with courtly manners and protocol.

Tennis sovereignty was represented by three-time men’s singles champion John Newcombe (crowned in 1967, 1970 and 1971) and Pat Cash, the bandana-clad ruler of Centre Court in 1987.

Melinda Gates, herself a queen of philanthropy, arrived in an elegant interpretation of Wimbledon’s players’ all-white dress code.

Countering this day of glamour in the Royal Box was the gladiatorial spirit of the scene below. Before the showcase men’s semi, nice-guy Cam Norrie was being advised to “take risks” against the “ultimate challenge” of playing Djokovic.

The Serb is virtually an immovable object and unstoppable force on Centre Court. If his British challenger was to prevail, it must surely be a case of tennis warfare, or “winning ugly”, as the American Olympic bronze medallist Brad Gilbert once proposed.

If Norrie needed inspiration in developing the script in his favour, he could surely look up to Sir Sam Mendes, dramatiser of two of James Bond’s last-ditch heroic survivals in both Skyfall and Spectre.

From the frontline of news reporting to the frontline of English summer season gentility… BBC journalist and newsreader Clive Myrie enjoyed some respite from the world’s troubles, even though he might have to dodge wayward balls from the all-or-nothing firepower of Jelena Ostapenko, playing with the Ukrainian Lyudmyla Kichenok in the first ladies’ doubles semi-final against the dynamic Czech pairing of Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.

In his guest list this year, Chairman Ian Hewitt has acknowledged society’s debt to many people who work towards making global society better for all – those who provide stellar public service in all walks of life and whose achievements are a source of inspiration and gratitude.

Notable invitees on this 12th day of The Championships also included Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, former Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, who was knighted this year for his services to public health; and geneticist Sir Paul Nurse, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2001 in Physiology or Medicine, and was this year made Companion of Honour for services to science and medicine in the UK and abroad.

The Club’s commitment to act as a force for good in environmental sustainability was reflected in the presence of the Rt Hon Alok Sharma, President for COP26 and Chair of the government’s Climate Action Implementation Committee.

One connoisseur of the feast that was the men’s semi-final sandwiched by the two women’s doubles semi-finals was celebrity chef Marcus Wareing. The judge on MasterChef: The Professionals has his own impeccable royal credentials: 16 years ago, he cooked his grandmother’s custard tart for the Queen’s official 80th birthday lunch.

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