Judy ‘warned William and Kate off tennis career for George’

Judy Murray said she warned the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge off any plan to make Prince George “the next Andy Murray” as she accepted an OBE.

The Scottish tennis coach and mother of Britain’s most successful modern player told William it was a “very difficult journey” as he presented her with the honour at Buckingham Palace yesterday.

Last month, Kate revealed during a visit to the Lawn Tennis Association’s headquarters that she was teaching the game to the four-year-old prince but he “only wants to whack the ball”.

Ms Murray, speaking after the ceremony, said: “He (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.”

Ms Murray, the former Great Britain Fed Cup coach, received her OBE for services to tennis, women in sport and charity.

She trained her sons, Andy and Jamie, as children.

Two-time SW19 singles champion Sir Andy recently became a father again himself after wife Kim Sears gave birth to their second daughter – their first, Sophia, was born in February 2016.

Ms Murray spoke about her forthcoming appearance in the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special, where she will perform the Charleston with Neil Jones.

She said: “When I did the Charleston with Anton (Du Beke) three years ago, (judge) Craig Revel Horwood said to me, ‘Not an ounce of swivel, darling’, so my goal is to show him I can swivel.”

Rehearsals have already started for the BBC show, with Ms Murray saying her first experience of taking to the dancefloor gave her “a lot of confidence”.

Picture: PA. Judy Murray was awarded an OBE by the Duke of Cambridge at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.