16 Photos of the Kate Middleton, Princess Diana, and the Rest of the Royal Family Playing Tennis

The British royal family loves their sporting exploits, and tennis clearly holds a special place in their hearts. Their fondness for the sport has made the annual Wimbledon tennis tournament something of an unofficial royal spotting event (and Kate Middleton's faces at the Grand Slam have become the stuff of tennis legend), but their affection also extends out of the stands and onto the court. Plenty of royals have enjoyed serving up some game themselves. Here, the best shot of the royal family playing like pros.

Long before he became King George VI, Queen Elizabeth's father, enjoyed a good tennis match. Here, the then-Duke of York and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (the future Queen Mother) attended a tennis party after the announcement of their engagement.

A few years later, the future George VI would go on to become the only royal ever to compete at Wimbledon, playing doubles with Louis Greig (they were eliminated in the first round.)

Carrying on the family tradition, Prince Edward takes a swing at a tennis court in London.

Princess Diana looked ready to give it her best serve against German tennis player Steffi Graf at the Vanderbilt Raquet Club in London.

Ever the style maven, Princess Diana made an argument for tennis skirts everywhere with this outfit.

The sport must have stuck with Prince Edward, as he was seen here again playing at Holyport Real Tennis Court in 1993.

Kate Middleton (back row, third from the left) may not have been a royal when this photo was taken for her school tennis team, but she appears to have already developed a love of the game.

Queen Elizabeth may not have inherited her father's tennis form (Her Majesty is famously more of a riding and racing fan) but she was clearly please to receive a racket from the British Davis Cup.

He may have been at a cricket skills clinic, but Prince Charles still tossed around a tennis ball at the Melbourne Cricket Ground during a visit to Australia.

During a visit to the Coventry War Memorial Park, Prince William hit a few balls while fans looked on.

During a Youth Sports Festival during his official visit to Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda, Prince Harry took a swing at a few tennis balls.

Prince Harry working on his form at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

In 2016, Kate took over from the Queen as the royal patron of the Lawn Tennis Association . Here, she embraces her new position by playing around with kids at the National Tennis Centre.

Kate showed off her serve during a visit to the Coach Core Essex apprenticeship program.

Kate played a match with some school children in Scotland at the Craiglockhart Tennis Centre in Edinburgh as part of the Lawn Tennis Association's youth program.

Prince William got in on the game too, volleying a few balls with the youth program as well.