Photo of Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton sums up Wimbledon surprise

The incredible scenes that played out on Wimbledon’s Centre Court were best summed up by this brilliant photo of the two Duchesses.

If you couldn’t see the score, a look at the Royal Box would have given you a fair indication of who was on top in the women’s singles final at Wimbledon.

Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, were in attendance to watch the decider between Serena Williams and Simona Halep and like the rest of the crowd, both will have been stunned with what they witnessed.

Williams was shell-shocked by a Halep ambush as the diminutive Romanian blew the 23-time major winner off the court in a stunning start to the match. Halep ran up 4-0 in the opener in just 11 minutes and maintained the rage to close out the set 6-2 in 26 minutes before claiming the second set by the same margin to win 6-2 6-2 in under an hour.

Most were tipping Williams for the title but Halep had other ideas and she played out of her skin. She was thrilled Kate was watching on too, having said before the final she was hoping to receive some love from her favourite royal.

Asked who she would like to see supporting her, the 27-year-old said: “Kate. I like her. It is very special to be able to play a Wimbledon final, it is pretty amazing.”

Meghan is good friends with Williams and was no doubt cheering for the American but she didn’t have much reason to smile. Likely after witnessing another scorching Halep winner or a point where the world No. 7 somehow reached a ball she had no right to make in an astonishing first set, the look of surprise and awe on Kate’s face was obvious.

Meghan, on the other hand, didn’t appear quite as thrilled.

Did you see that? (Photo by Karwai Tang/Getty Images)

Behind them, tennis legend Martina Navratilova was applauding and a few other spectators looked pretty impressed with what they’d seen too.

Williams fought back at the start of the second set, letting out an almighty roar in the first game as she tried to pump herself up and back into form. But Halep was on another level, simply refusing to buckle in the face of one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

She kept her cool, rebuffing everything Williams threw at her and closed out the match for her first Wimbledon title and second grand slam triumph overall.

Told during her on-court interview she would get to meet those who watched the incredible match from the Royal Box, Halep was genuinely shocked.

“That’s amazing, I didn’t know that so it’s even more special now,” she said. “Thank you to everyone from the royal family for coming.”

Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, stand together during the women's singles final.

That’s exactly how it panned out as cameras followed Halep on her way to a well-earned meeting with royalty.

The 27-year-old gave a little bow as she shook Kate’s hand and the 37-year-old congratulated Halep on a job well done.

The Romanian star was tight-lipped on what exactly the Duchess of Cambridge said to her but was clearly humbled to have the opportunity to both play in front of, and come face-to-face with, royalty.

“It was an honour to play in front of her. I had the chance to meet her after the match. She’s very kind, very nice,” Halep said in her post-match press conference.

“Yeah, it was an extra boost when I saw all of them there, the royal family. Winning in this position, it’s really nice. It’s unforgettable.”

Live reactions to the level of tennis on show 😮#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/NmOgTnGAYY

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 13, 2019

Although Meghan was barracking for Williams she applauded Halep’s win as heartily as everyone else on Centre Court. Afterwards, the American tennis star reflected on what it meant to have someone like the Duchess of Sussex in her corner.

“Just having her in general as a friend is great. She’s such a great friend and a great person as well,” Williams said. “Always positive no matter what. It’s so good to have people like that.

“She’s such a fan of the sport.

“She, too, was happy for Simona. She saw she played unbelievable. That’s just the kind of person she is.”