13/07/2015
NEWS STORY
Lewis Hamilton was refused entry to Sunday's men's final at Wimbledon after flouting strict dress code.
Earlier in the day, the Mercedes driver took to Instagram, where he revealed: "On my way to Wimbledon to watch the final. Honoured to have been invited to watch the men's finals from the Royal Box!"
However, arriving shoe-less, jacket-less and tie-less and wearing a shirt that only be described as 'busy', the Briton was refused entry.
"Due to a misunderstanding over dress code, he is disappointed to have missed the final," said a spokesperson for the driver
"If he was not adequately dressed you could infer that he would not have been let in, but we do not comment on our guests," said a spokesperson for Wimbledon. "If he came without a jacket, tie or shoes he would have had two choices - not staying or going to get some extra stuff."
As a consequence of his fashion faux-pas, Hamilton missed joining a host of other ‘celebrities’ including Benedict Cumberbatch, Kate Winslet, Bradley Cooper and Hugh Grant, in watching Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer.
The news comes weeks after Hamilton was said, according to the tabloids, to have received a "lesson in table manners" from the Queen during a royal lunch.
The Briton subsequently denied the reports.
"I've been very, very, very fortunate to meet these people," he said at Silverstone, "and with the Queen... it's really strange because people made up some silly stories recently about my meeting with the Queen but it was actually amazing.
"It was great to... firstly be invited back to sit with her and have lunch. But growing up, seeing her on TV all the time and then having her right next to you, so you can literally have a normal conversation was just...never in a million years thought that would ever happen.
"The same with meeting Mr Mandela: when you walk into a room and he's sitting there in his silk shirt and it's like walking in to see the King. The atmosphere, as you walked in with him, it was immense, incredibly special man so I'm very, very grateful that I got to be in the presence of both these great people."