Just because you're the future King of England, doesn't mean you rule at everything.
On the first Friday of the 1926 Wimbledon Championships, the Duke of York took to the court with his doubles partner Wing Commander Louis Greig (yes, that was the ilk of players you could expect to see back then).
As Wimbledon itself admits, "the Duke was not extremely skilled". Let's be honest, his posture is about as wooden as his racquet.
In fairness, the man who would be king faced a redoubtable duo — Roper Barrett and former Wimbledon champ Arthur Gore.
Early Kim Sears incarnation, the Duchess of York (aka future Queen Mum) watched on from the sidelines. The caption from the newsreel at the time reports she's 'keenly interested' although we'd describe her expression more as 'keenly interested to be somewhere else.'
Still there is some marvellous footage of the Wimbledon crowds — who, in those days, probably did not have to shell out a small fortune on a jug of Pimm's.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Duke and his partner were on the end of a 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 thrashing. The most disappointing thing though? Sloping off the court, he refused to speak to anyone, or to sign anyone's oversized Slazenger ball.
