Whether she’s wearing Emilia Wickstead, Dolce & Gabbana or Alessandra Rich, Kate Middleton’s Wimbledon always looks good on fashion fans.
And while most of the Duchess of Cambridge’s tennis attire has some glittering pearls or glittering gold jewelry, she almost always adds another accessory: a little purple-and-green bow above her heart.
Wondering what the ribbon represents and when she started wearing it? Below you will find the scoop on this very special pin.
Only members of an elite tennis club can wear it.
If you’re part of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) – whose patroness is the Duchess of Cambridge – you can wear the pin. Otherwise you’re out of luck.
Formed into a bow, the ribbon features the official colors of the private club: “Wimbledon Purple” and “Wimbledon Green”.
Middleton often honors the tournament’s signature hues with her style — as in 2019, when she donned a deep green Alexander McQueen dress to play a game with her sister Pippa and sister-in-law Meghan. In 2021, she similarly appeared in a bright green Emilia Wickstead dress.
Want your own ribbon? The AELTC has only 375 members and the competition for acceptance is tough; there is a waiting list of more than 1,000 people, according to Forbes.
The Duchess started wearing her pin in 2017.
Middleton first wore her pin after taking over the patronage of the Queen’s AELTC in 2016.
Her first Wimbledon appearance after the pattern change was on July 16, 2017, when she donned a floral print Catherine Walker dress along with the prestigious ribbon as she joined Prince William to cheer on Roger Federer and Marin Cilic in the final of the men’s singles.
She has only been spotted once without the pin at Wimbledon.
Since 2017, the Duchess has always worn her Wimbledon bow, except for the women’s final she attended in 2018 with Meghan Markle.
For the event, Middleton wore a Jenny Packham dress with a tennis ball-inspired print, and the style featured a large flounce on the left shoulder where she would normally pin her AELTC ribbon.
She has worn the pin on every other visit – including last week’s appearance at the Wimbledon men’s quarter-finals, when the Duchess paired her pin with an Alessandra Rich polka-dot dress.