Tennis fans ordered not to take pictures of Meghan Markle at Wimbledon as she was there 'in a private capacity'
The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, was branded a 'control freak' on Tuesday after it was revealed that her security team had warned tennis fans against taking her pictures at Wimbledon. The tennis fans also included one VIP who was warned despite her having no idea that the royal was present there for the match.
The 37-year-old former actress made a surprise appearance at the stadium on Thursday to watch her longtime friend Serena Williams's match. Markle was accompanied by her old friends Genevieve Hillis and Lindsay Roth.
64-year-old Sally Jones, who was seated in the same row as the Markle, was ordered to not take the Duchess' photographs because she was there 'in a private capacity.'
She was warned even though there were 12,000 people in Court 1, where they were seated, and millions of others were watching on television.
Jones, a PR consultant from Warwickshire who worked as a sports broadcaster for the BBC and ITV for decades, was shocked by the warning, and said that Markle's bodyguard appeared 'embarrassed' when she told him that she was actually taking a picture of Serena and hadn't realized the royal was there until he pointed out, the Daily Mail reported.
Jones told the outlet that the Duchess was 'clearly looking around looking to see who was looking at her', adding: "Harry and Meghan see themselves more as A-list celebrities rather than royals carrying out their duties. It's control-freakery."
"There were around 200 photographers snapping away at her but security were sent to warn an old biddy like me. It makes them look silly. It's childish and takes us for fools," she added. "Their wish to controls things is in stark contrast with the Cambridges who appear far more sensible. Kate was at Wimbledon two days earlier and acted completely differently."
Jones added that although she is a royalist, people around her are getting fed up with Harry and Meghan’s approach.
"The photograph incident is the latest in a long list of things such as the confusion over when Meghan went into Labour where she had the baby, and more recently the secrecy over the names of the godparents. It’s all completely unnecessary and they are trying to score points," the PR consultant said.
TV show host Piers Morgan also weighed in on the incident and told 'Good Morning Britain' viewers: "A private capacity, at Wimbledon? This is so ridiculous. It's rankly hypocritical and they're not private people, they're the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. We get to pay for their mansion, we get to do all of this."