Princess Charlotte reacts to 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, in 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.

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.

Kate’s sister, Pippa Middleton, closed out the girls’ day at Wimbledon.

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, who is 6 years old, has not yet attended Wimbledon. Perhaps it is simply because he is young – Louis’s royal siblings were 8 years old 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.

Can’t get enough of the People’s Royals media coverage? Subscribe to our free newsletter For the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

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.