Princess of Wales greeted with standing ovation at Wimbledon men’s final

Royal makes second public appearance since announcing cancer diagnosis and presents winner’s trophy to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz

The Princess of Wales was greeted with a standing ovation on Sunday as she attended the men’s singles final at Wimbledon with Princess Charlotte.
The visit was only her second public appearance since announcing her cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
It comes a month after the Princess, 42, made her first foray back into the public eye at Trooping the Colour in June.
As she entered the royal box and ushered Princess Charlotte to her seat the Princess received a standing ovation on Centre Court.
The Princess smiled broadly and waved to the crowd.
As well as Princess Charlotte, her nine-year-old daughter who is third in line to the throne, she was accompanied by her sister Pippa Matthews.
They watched Carlos Alcaraz, the defending champion, beat Novak Djokovic in a rematch of last year’s final.
The Princess of Wales wore a purple dress by Safiyaa as she presented the trophy to Alcaraz.
Before passing the trophy to him, the Princess commiserated and shook the hand of runner-up Djokovic.
The Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte had earlier met the women’s champion Barbora Krejčiková upon entering the club house where they brought her flowers.
Pictures shared on social media by Kensington Palace showed Princess Charlotte holding a tennis racket which was given to the Princess of Wales by Krejčiková who used it in the final on Saturday.
On Saturday the Princess missed the women’s singles final for the first time in three years.
The trip was not Princess Charlotte’s first to Wimbledon. She attended with brother Prince George last year to watch the men’s singles final.
A photograph posted on Wimbledon’s X account also showed Charlotte shaking the hand of Alcaraz as he held the trophy inside the championship’s grounds.
The Princess of Wales and Charlotte were greeted by British players Emma Raducanu, Sonay Kartal, Lily Miyazaki, Lucy Shuker and Flora Johnson as they arrived on the players’ lawn before entering Centre Court.
Charlotte gave wheelchair tennis player Shuker a “pinky promise” that she would try the sport alongside her mother.
The Princess of Wales was also introduced to Raducanu, who was knocked out in the fourth round of this year’s championships, telling her: “It was so hard to see you go out.”
US Open winner Raducanu said it was “amazing” to have the support of the princess and “see her here looking so healthy and happy”.
While meeting the players, the Princess of Wales said Charlotte, who was wearing a navy polka dot dress, had been “practising yesterday” and that tennis was “really great for the youngsters”.
The Princess said she had been “filling in the leaderboard” with Charlotte during Wimbledon, adding: “As a family, we play a lot.”
After being asked to try wheelchair tennis by Shuker, the Princess of Wales said: “I’ve tried wheelchair rugby before, but not tennis. You’ll have to hold me to that.”
Other guests at Wimbledon on Sunday included Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor, Sir Cliff Richard, Benedict Cumberbatch and his wife Sophie Hunter.
Also seen in the crowds lining Centre Court were Pierce Brosnan and Tom Hiddleston, as well as politicians Nigel Farage and Chris Grayling.
Kensington Palace had confirmed in advance the Princess of Wales would be attending Sunday’s final to present the winner’s trophy.
As patron of the All-England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, the Princess of Wales has traditionally presented the trophies.
She took over the patronage of the AELTC from Queen Elizabeth II in 2021.
The All-England Club has traditionally enjoyed a close relationship with the Royal family, with the Princess of Wales being the 10th member of the Royal family to present the trophy since 1907 when the future King George V became the club’s president.
The Duchess of Gloucester was informally sounded out as a potential replacement for the Princess of Wales if she was unable to attend on Sunday, The Telegraph understands.