By Akhila Seneviratne
Queen Elizabeth II since 1954, has been an important face in sporting events held especially in England. Many icons of the sports we love may recall the cherished moments they had with her Majesty, especially at the Podium Ceremony upon receiving their coveted silverware.
Let’s go back to 1966, the FIFA World Cup where the hosts England defeated Germany 4-2 in the finals. Bobby Moore the England skipper, received the Jules Rimet trophy from her Majesty, a special moment for the team and home crowd who just win their maiden football World Cup title.
Fast forward many years later to the 1999 Rugby World Cup hosted by Wales, also part of the United Kingdom. Australia beat France 35-12 in the finals held in Cardiff and Wallabies skipper John Eales received the Webb Ellis Cup from her Majesty the Queen.
In Tennis, the Queen has only attended the Wimbledon 4 times and was a patron to the event. She was not a fan of Tennis and sinxe 2017, Kate Middleton took over the honours as the patron as she is an avid Tennis fan.
In her last appearance at Wimbledon in 2010, she met Roger Federer and Serena Williams who have announced their retirement this month and Rafael Nadal famously declined the meeting, to which he had personal reasons to justify.
Of course, one cannot forget Cricket. Since 1954, she has witnessed 26 matches played at the Lord’s where she is a patron as the Queen and most recently when England hosted the World Cup in 2019, the captains had the honour of meeting her Majesty in person.
There have been many other sports like the Commonwealth Games, formula 1, equestrian which is a royal attended sport and other sports that the English proudly represent which had Queen Elizabeth attending in most occasions. Most Sportsmen who received their knighthood during her Majesty’s reign for their service to the country and sports.
The outpouring of social media on the Queen’s demise was a recollection of some memories of many sportspersons. She leaves a legacy behind in sports during her 70 year old reign, which will now be taken over by King Charles.
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