Judy Murray has warned Prince William and Duchess Catherine it will be a "very difficult journey" if they want Prince George to become a professional tennis player.
The 58-year-old tennis coach – who is the mother of British tennis stars Andy and Jamie Murray – collected her OBE from Prince William at Buckingham Palace and quipped she was trying to put the 35-year-old royal off from encouraging his son into the sport.
She told reporters: "William was saying about Prince George, Catherine trying to teach Prince George how to play tennis and how I think she had said last week that she wants him to be the next Andy Murray. I’m sure she was joking. I was trying to put them off that – I said it’s a very difficult journey."
Meanwhile, it was previously revealed that Duchess Catherine was getting tips from Judy Murray on how to encourage Prince George to learn to play tennis when she visited the Lawn Tennis Association last month and she wants to know how best to get her four-year-old son interested in playing the sport and not just "whacking the ball".
Lawn Tennis Association coach Sam Richardson, who also spoke to the Duchess at the event, said: "She asked what kind of stuff George should be doing [at his age].
"He is interested in tennis but, being four, he just wants to whack the ball. She said she had also spoken to Judy Murray, who advised her to take the racket away and just focus on skills."
Judy Murray warns royals of ‘difficult journey’ to tennis stardom
