Princess Charlotte returns Kate Middleton’s standing ovation at Wimbledon

Perhaps Kate Middleton’s biggest fan is her daughter, Princess Charlotte.

The Princess of Wales, 42, stepped out at Wimbledon on July 14, making a rare public appearance as she continues her treatment for cancer. Accompanied by 9-year-old Charlotte, the princesses met people connected to the event before heading to the Royal Box on Centre Court to watch the men’s singles final, a repeat of last year’s tournament between Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Novak Djokovic of Serbia. Kate’s sister, Pippa Middleton, rounded off the girls’ day at Wimbledon.

As they sat in the front row of the Royal Box, the crowd rose to their feet and applauded Princess Kate. Princess Charlotte beamed proudly as her mother waved her hand, looking moved. The applause echoed deeply, marking a rare and emotional public appearance for Kate amid her cancer treatment.

“When I saw this beautiful moment, I was so happy,” Karwai Tang, the photographer who captured the moment, tells People magazine. [Kate] She usually comes and comes down the stairs and takes her seat. She doesn’t usually stand up to wave. But she stood for a while and took it in. It was special for her to acknowledge it and take in the applause.

“She didn’t look any different from last year’s Wimbledon. It felt like she was back. The applause and cheers from the crowd when she came on the court was a huge boost for her. Wimbledon was waiting for her to come back, and she did come back,” he added.

Tang also captured another touching moment between mother and daughter after Charlotte and Pippa returned to their seats after taking a break from the match.

“[Charlotte] “She jumped down the stairs and when she got back to her seat, she was laughing. She leaned over to her mother and must have told her what had happened, and they were laughing together and enjoying the good old laugh,” he says.

Of the family outing, Tang says: “You could see that the three of them were enjoying the game – Charlotte was watching the game like her mother. You could see their excitement.”

While Princess Kate wore a purple Safiyaa dress that matched her tie pin representing her role at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Princess Charlotte wore a blue polka dot dress with her hair in her signature style: a half-up hairstyle with two braids secured back with a bow.

Princess Kate and Prince William are regular visitors to Wimbledon, and in recent years they have started introducing their children to the sport as a staple in their summer calendar.

Princess Charlotte’s attendance at Wimbledon was her second time attending the tennis tournament. Princess Charlotte joined her parents and older brother Prince George for her Wimbledon debut last year, wearing stylish sunglasses as she cheered on Carlos Alcaraz as he beat Djokovic in a thrilling match.

Prince George has also attended the event twice, in 2022 (where he got the chance to hold Djokovic’s first-place trophy!) and in 2023.

Prince Louis, the younger brother of Prince George and Princess Charlotte, 6, has yet to take part in Wimbledon. This may be down to his young age – Louis’s royal siblings were 8 when they first attended the sporting event.

The Royal Box in the centre of the stadium is normally off-limits to children due to high demand for space in the 74-seat area, but there are exceptions for children of the Royal Family.

Prince William missed this year’s Wimbledon finals as he headed to Germany for another sporting event. The Prince of Wales, 42, is set to support the England football team in their Euro 2024 clash with Spain in his capacity as president of the Football Association.

Although the Princess of Wales usually attends Wimbledon on several days of the tournament each year, she has largely stayed out of the public eye as she continues her treatment for cancer. Her appearance at Wimbledon came just weeks after she joined the royal family at Trooping the Colour, the annual birthday celebration for King Charles, in her first public appearance since her cancer diagnosis was revealed.

Wimbledon organisers said earlier they hoped the prince would be able to attend and continue the tradition of handing out awards this year. Club president Debbie Jevans said: Telegraph Sport They said they would give Princess Kate “as much flexibility as possible”, with the newspaper reporting that a decision on who will present the awards may not be made until the morning of the final.

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Even before becoming patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Kate was a regular at Wimbledon. The avid tennis player has watched the tournament in person every year since her marriage to Prince William except for 2020 (when the tournament was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic) and 2013, which was when she was “heavily pregnant” with Prince George and was advised by doctors not to attend the event.