The Princess of Wales had a special guest with her during a rare public appearance amid her cancer treatment.
Kate Middleton‘s biggest fan might be her daughter, Princess Charlotte.
The Princess of Wales, 42, stepped out at Wimbledon on July 14, marking a rare public outing as she continues her cancer treatment. Accompanied by 9-year-old Charlotte, the two princesses met with people associated with the event before heading to the Royal Box at Centre Court to watch the men’s singles final, a repeat of last year’s championship matchup between Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Novak Djokovic of Serbia. Also joining them was Kate’s sister, Pippa Middleton.
As they took their seats in the front row of the Royal Box, the crowd rose to their feet, giving Princess Kate a standing ovation. Princess Charlotte beamed with pride at her mother, who waved with a smile, visibly moved. The applause resonated deeply, marking an emotional public appearance for Kate amid her cancer treatment.
Karwai Tang, the photographer who captured the sweet moment, tells PEOPLE: “When [Kate] usually comes in, she walks down the steps and into her seat. She doesn’t normally stand and wave. But she stood for a while and took it all in. For her to acknowledge it and take in the applause was special.”
“She seemed to look no different from the last Wimbledon. It felt like she is back,” he adds. “For them to cheer and clap when they came in was a great support for her. Wimbledon had been waiting with bated breath for her to return and she was back.”
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] skipped down the stairs and when she got back to her seat — she was laughing. She leaned over and must have told her mom what it was about, and they were giggling together and having a good laugh,” he says.
Of the family outing, Tang says, “You can tell that all three of them were enjoying themselves — Charlotte is following the game like her mother. You can see their excitement.”
While Princess Kate wore a purple dress by Safiyaa that matched her bow tie pin representing her role with the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Princess Charlotte wore a polka dot blue dress with her hair in her signature style: a half-up ‘do with two braids pinned back with a bow.
Princess Kate and Prince William are regulars at Wimbledon, and in recent years, they’ve started to introduce their children to this key event in their summer calendar.
Princess Charlotte’s outing at Wimbledon marks her second time attending the tennis tournament. Princess Charlotte joined her parents and big brother, Prince George, for her Wimbledon debut last year, sporting stylish sunglasses as she cheered on Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated 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 2023.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte’s younger brother, 6-year-old Prince Louis, has yet to make his Wimbledon debut. The reason may be that he’s simply too young — both of Louis’ royal siblings were 8 when they attended the athletic event for the first time.
The Royal Box at Centre Court is typically off-limits to kids given the high demand for a spot in the 74-seat area, but exceptions are made for royal children.
Prince William skipped this year’s Wimbledon finals as he headed to Germany for another sporting event. The Prince of Wales, 42, is set to support England’s soccer team as they take on Spain in the Euro 2024 championship game in his role as president of the Football Association.
Although the Princess of Wales typically attends Wimbledon on multiple days of the competition each year, she has largely stayed out of the public eye as she continues her cancer treatment. Her outing at Wimbledon came just weeks after she joined the royal family at Trooping the Colour, the annual celebration of King Charles’ birthday, in her first outing since revealing her diagnosis.
Wimbledon organizers previously said they were hopeful that the royal would be able to attend and continue the tradition of handing out the awards this year. Club chair Debbie Jevans told Telegraph Sport that they will give Princess Kate “as much flexibility as possible,” with the outlet reporting the call on who will present the trophies may not be made until the mornings of the final matches.
Even before becoming the patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Kate was a regular Wimbledon attendee. The avid tennis player has watched the tournament in person every year since she married Prince William except in 2020 (when the COVID-19 pandemic affected the tournament) and in 2013, which took place when she was “heavily pregnant” with Prince George and doctors advised her not to attend the event.
By Andrej Kovacevic
Updated on 18th July 2024