Princess of Wales, Kate, gets standing ovation at Wimbledon, hands Carlos Alcaraz trophy in rare appearance after cancer diagnosis

The Princess of Wales and her 9-year-old daughter, Princess Charlotte, got to the tournament in southwest London about a half-hour before the Wimbledon’s Men’s Final was scheduled to begin. They went to a terrace at the club that is connected to the main stadium by a pedestrian walkway and greeted several people, including 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu and other young British tennis players. Raducanu lost to New Zealand native, Lulu Sun, in round 16 at Wimbledon this year.

Kate, wearing a purple dress, one of Wimbledon’s official colors, went from the stands down to the playing surface to present the trophies, part of her duties as patron of the All England Club, which hosts the annual tournament. Kate has been the patron of the All England Club since 2016. 

She shook hands with some of the ball kids who worked at the tournament, then exchanged words with both players and applauded for Alcaraz after giving him the winner's trophy, his second in a row.

The princess and Carlos Alcaraz, 21, had a conversation in a room inside the tournament's main stadium after the trophy ceremony. “You played so well,” Kate told him. “Enjoy the win.”

Seven-time Wimbledon winner, Novak Djokovic, said at his post-match news conference, “It was, of course, a privilege to be in her presence again. I’ve said to her that it is very nice to see her in good health; she seems to be in good health. That’s obviously very positive news for everyone in this country, but also for Wimbledon.”

Djokovic, incidentally, is one win away from equalling Roger Federer's record of eight Wimbledon titles. This win would have tied him with Federer for the most Wimbledon men’s singles titles.

The Princess of Wales did not attend Saturday when Barbora Krejcikova defeated Jasmine Paolini for the women's title.

Kate revealed in March that she has an unspecified form of cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy. Her lone public appearance since then had been attending last month’s birthday parade for King Charles III.

When announcing her diagnosis in March, Kate asked for “time, space and privacy” while she is treated for an unspecified type of cancer that was discovered after what she described as “major” surgery. She was hospitalised in January for planned abdominal surgery.

Prince William, heir to the throne and a regular at Wimbledon finals, was not there Sunday. Instead, he planned to be in Germany to watch England face Spain in the final of the men’s soccer European Championship on Sunday. He is the president of the English Football Association.