The Princess of Wales made a rare public appearance while receiving cancer treatment, and she brought a special friend along.
Kate Middleton’s daughter Princess Charlotte might be her biggest fan.
The 42-year-old Princess of Wales appeared in public for the first time on July 14 while receiving cancer treatment at Wimbledon. The two princesses went to attend the men’s singles final at Centre Court, which was a replay of the previous year’s championship match between Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, after first meeting with the event organizers and 9-year-old Charlotte. Kate Middleton’s sister Pippa finished off the girls’ day at Wimbledon.
As they took their seats in the front row of the Royal Box, the audience stood and gave Princess Kate a standing ovation. With a proud smile, Princess Charlotte waved to her mother, who was visibly moved. The raucous cheers announced Kate’s heartbreaking and unusual public presence during her cancer treatment.
Kate usually walks through the stairs and takes a seat, according to Karwai Tang, the photographer who captured the endearing moment. She wouldn’t usually just stand there and wave. But for a long while, she just stood and observed everything. The fact that she took the applause and recognized it was fantastic.
She didn’t seem to have altered since Wimbledon last year. “It seemed like she was back,” he says. Their shouts and cheers as they entered gave her such encouragement. Wimbledon was thrilled to have her back after a nervous wait.
Tang captured another endearing moment between the mother and daughter as Charlotte and Pippa took a break from the match and went back to their seats.
Charlotte skittered down the steps and back to her seat, giggling uncontrollably. He states that as she leaned over and seemingly conveyed the matter to her mother, they were laughing heartily and joking together.
Regarding the family outing, Tang says, “You can tell that all three of them were having fun—Charlotte is following the game like her mother.” It’s clear they’re excited.
Princess Kate chose a purple dress by Safiyaa matching her bow tie pin, reflecting her employment with the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, while Princess Charlotte wore a polka-dot blue suit with her hair in her signature half-up “do” with two braids pinned back with a bow.
Princess Kate and Prince William, who visit Wimbledon often, have started introducing their children to the summertime staple of sports in recent years.
Princess Charlotte is attending the Wimbledon tennis event for the second time. Princess Charlotte debuted at Wimbledon last year alongside her parents and Prince George, her elder brother. Wearing stylish sunglasses, she cheered for Carlos Alcaraz after his thrilling victory over Djokovic.
In addition, Prince George made two trips to the competition: in 2022, he had the chance to handle Djokovic’s first-place trophy, and in 2023.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte’s younger brother, Prince Louis, is six years old and has never participated in a Wimbledon tournament. Perhaps he’s simply too young; Louis’s royal brothers went to the game for the first time at the age of eight.
Children are often not allowed in the Royal Box at Centre Court due to the high demand for a seat in the 74-seat arena; however, there are exceptions for royal children.
Prince William skipped this year’s Wimbledon championships to go to a different athletic event in Germany. The 42-year-old Prince of Wales will support England’s soccer team as they play Spain in the Euro 2024 final match in his role as Football Association president.
Even though the Princess of Wales typically attends Wimbledon on multiple days every year, she has largely shunned the spotlight during her cancer treatment. Just a few weeks had passed since her first public appearance after revealing her sickness, when she joined the royal family for Trooping the Colour, the annual celebration of King Charles’ birthday. This was her appearance at Wimbledon.
The Wimbledon organisers had previously stated their hope that the current king will be able to come and continue the tradition of delivering the trophies. Club head Debbie Jevans stated to Telegraph Sport that Princess Kate will be granted “as much flexibility as possible.” She also hinted that the choice of who will present the trophies may not be made until the mornings of the championship games.
Even before she was named patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Kate was a regular visitor to Wimbledon. The devoted tennis player has attended the event every year since she married Prince William, with the exception of 2020, when the COVID-19 epidemic interrupted the competition, and 2013, when doctors advised her not to attend since she was “heavily pregnant” with Prince George.
