Kate Middleton and Prince William were at Centre Court today to watch the great hope of British tennis, Andy Murray, crash out of the tournament in straight sets.

It capped a miserable British summer of sport which also saw the country eliminated from the World Cup in the group stages.

Will and Kate's presence in the royal box clearly did little to encourage Murray, who was annihilated by the up and coming young Bulgarian player Grigor Dimitrov.

Murray has struggled with form this year, and has seen his world ranking slip, but tennis-mad Brits had hoped that the British player and defending champion would pull something special out of the bag.

It was not to be.

Murray lost 6-1 7-6, 6-2 as Kate and William grimaced and groaned in agony with the rest of the nation.

Will and Kate were not the only royals present - Princess Beatrice and her boyfriend Dave Clark were also at Wimbledon for the dramatic humbling of the Scotsman.

Happier news is that the other great icon of modern Britishness, Kate's hair, at least held up today. After suffering a follicle malfunction yesterday, when her ringlets faded in the summer heat, Kate opted for a looser curl today, recalling Farrah Fawcett's signature look.

Murray said on BBC One after the game: "I'm disappointed, especially disappointed with the way I started the match... You need to start better."