Incredible story of the woman who sat behind Kate Middleton at Wimbledon

Fans were too busy gawking at Kate and Roger Federer to notice anyone else in the Royal Box. But one woman deserved recognition.

When fans at Wimbledon’s Centre Court turned their eyes towards the Royal Box on Tuesday, they were fixated on two famous figures: Catherine, Princess of Wales, and the retired eight-time champion Roger Federer.

A row behind them was another person worthy of recognition: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian charity worker, was detained by Iran in 2016 and held for the next five years, accused of plotting to propagandise against the country’s government. She always denied the charges.

She was released, at last, in 2022, and returned to the United Kingdom.

That’s Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe on the left. Picture: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe at a panel discussing women’s rights and Iran during the Glastonbury Festival this year. Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Speaking to British tennis player Andy Murray for the BBC last year, Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe revealed she had watched him win Wimbledon in 2016 from inside her Iranian prison cell.

“When I was first arrested, I was in prison in solitary confinement, and for about five months they didn’t allow me to have any books or newspapers,” she told him.

“There was a TV in the cell I was in, but it was off the entire time. Then, at some point, they decided to let me use the TV. But it only had two channels.

“One of them was rubbish Iranian-made soap opera all the time, which was very low quality. The other one was a sports channel.

“I put it on, and the first thing that was on was Wimbledon. They had no idea what they had given me, because I was always a big fan of you, but also there I was in solitary confinement watching the match you actually won in the end.”

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe said the experience gave her a small connection to the outside world and left her feeling “ecstatic”.

“That makes me quite emotional, hearing you speaking about that, so I appreciate you telling that to me,” Murray replied at the time.

“It makes all of the things I would complain about on a daily basis – my knee hurts, or my back hurts or whatever – we all have our own problems, but listening to you and speaking to you, I’ll certainly make sure I’m a lot more grateful for everything that I’ve got.”

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was invited to sit in the Royal Box this week at Murray’s request.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe watches the Princess of Wales take her seat. Picture: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

And speaking to Federer’s father, Robert Federer. Picture: Adrian Dennis/AFP

The crowd at Wimbledon applauds Murray. Picture: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Speaking after his victory in Wimbledon’s first round on Tuesday, Murray explained that he wanted her to watch him play “in totally different circumstances”.

“She hadn’t been to Wimbledon before,” he said.

“After I spoke with her, and (heard) the story she told me about watching my Wimbledon final while she was in a cell, I felt like I wanted to invite her to come along.

“Hopefully it was a much more enjoyable experience.”

Murray said he saw Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe briefly after the match.

“It was brilliant that she was able to come along and watch. It was her first time here. Glad she could make it,” he said.