Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, sprung a surprise after choosing to sit with former British tennis star Tim Henman at Wimbledon on day four at the All England Club. The 44-year-old, an avid tennis fan, was spotted in the crowd over on Court 18 sitting with Henman as they watched British hopeful Arthur Fery take on Otto Virtanen of Finland in the second-round clash.

The BBC addressed her arrival during the match, which led to presenter Isa Guha making an amusing remark about her colleague Henman. Kate turned up in a stylish blue outfit as she arrived at the All England Lawn Tennis Club on day four of the tournament. The royal wore a mid-blue blazer and colour-matching trousers and paired her suit with a white top. She finished her look with tan pointed heels. As the BBC commented on her look and reasons for attending, Henman, 51, caught a stray remark from Guha after she targeted him with a joke.

Guha, the former England cricket star-turned-broadcaster, aimed a light-hearted dig at her BBC colleague after spotting him sitting next to the Princess of Wales in the crowd. "Arthur Fery, imagine having to play in front of royalty as well," she remarked. "The Princess of Wales in the house, there she is, chatting to Tim Henman... hope he's not boring her."

Princess Kate appeared to be in good spirits as she chatted away with the former British No. 1. She was seen smiling and laughing at a few points before watching intently as the action unfolded in front of her. The pair were later caught by the broadcast cameras making their way for the exit midway through the second set with Fery leading 3-2 with serve.

Chris Bradnam, the BBC's commentator for the tournament, revealed that Kate had even been seen scanning fans' tickets as they entered the SW19 grounds.

On the broadcast, he said: "Her Royal Highness, Catherine Prince of Wales, she's been on duty today, mixing it with the fans, and scanning tickets! Our floor manager Tim told me that – who'd have thought, they'd have been meeting her scanning her ticket, coming into the grounds today, and now [sat] in the middle of fans."

Fery, who beat Damir Dzumhur in his first round clash, found the going tougher as he hoped to keep British hopes alive on home soil. All 10 British participants had been knocked out of the first round, marking the worst display from UK players at Wimbledon since records began in 2000.

However, the Briton lost the first set 7-5 to his opponent, Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen, who stunned fourth seed Ben Shelton in the first round. He managed to force a tiebreak in the second set, boosting his hopes of staying in the contest and the tournament.