A tennis fan ordered not to take a ‘selfie’ with Meghan Markle said he did not even know she was there and had been attempting to get a picture of Roger Federer.
Hasan Hasanov, 58, was spoken to by a royal bodyguard and ordered not to take snaps of the Duchess of Sussex.
The royal had made a surprise appearance to watch her friend Serena Williams and onlookers were told she was at Wimbledon in a ‘private capacity.’
Pictures from Mr Hasanov’s phone clearly show he was taking a selfie of himself with the court in the background.
And today the grandfather from south London insisted he had been trying to snap tennis star Mr Federer and was unaware of Meghan’s presence.
The long-standing Wimbledon fan told the Sun: ‘I honestly couldn’t care less about taking a picture of Meghan, Harry or any of the royals – and if I did, I’d ask first.
‘I was much more interested in getting a video of Roger Federer in action.’
The Duchess caused a stir when fans were ordered not to take pictures as she sat with two female friends in the royal box on July 4.
She was branded ‘childish’ and a ‘control freak’ after her security crew warned spectators against taking images.
Her sister-in-law Kate Middleton had attended a few days earlier and was happy to sit among the crowds and be photographed.
Mr Hasanov, who is a member of a tennis club in Purley, had queued from 5am to get a seat at the tennis tournament and had been delighted to get a prime spot on the show court.
He said he wanted to take a selfie to send to his wife Olga because she did not get up early to queue with him.
He added: ‘I couldn’t believe my luck when I got there because the only restriction was occasionally having the umpire between me and the players.’
The oil and gas safety engineer flew to Switzerland after Wimbledon and was unaware of the furore around the images at first.
He continued: ‘I know lots of people would like to get pictures of Meghan and I know people get cross when she gets upset because she’s a public figure.
‘I won’t be getting cross about this because – to be honest – I had no idea what was going on until days later.
‘And I’ll stay a fan of the royals.’
PR consultant Sally Jones, 64, was also told off by security officials despite not aiming her camera at Meghan.
She told the Daily Mail that the Duchess, who potentially breached the dress code by wearing jeans in the royal box, was ‘clearly looking around to see who was looking at her.’
Ms Jones added: ‘I felt a tap on my shoulder and was asked not to take pictures of the duchess – but I had no idea she was there until then. I was absolutely gobsmacked.’
She continued: ‘There were around 200 photographers snapping away at her but security were sent to warn an old biddy like me. It makes them look silly. It’s childish and takes us for fools.
Meghan and Harry have faced a backlash after attempting to keep Archie’s christening and godparents private.
They did release a number of pictures after the event.
Meghan and Archie joined Kate, George, Charlotte and Louis at a polo match on Wednesday where Princes William and Harry battled it out on opposing teams.
The royal family has declined to comment on the controversy but source said it was ‘not uncommon for personal protection officers accompanying any members of the Royal Family to ask people not to take pictures so they can engage with people and events rather than camera phones’.