The Princess of Wales has revealed that Princess Charlotte was ‘cheering’ on Carlos Alcaraz at the Wimbledon final this afternoon.
The 42-year-old king presented the Wimbledon trophy to Alcaraz this afternoon as the Spaniard won the Grand Slam for the second year in a row.
The mother of three, who attended the final day of the tournament with her daughter Charlotte and sister, Pippa Middleton, watched the reigning champion take on veteran Novak Djokovic, winning in three sets.
Nine-year-old Kate and Charlotte spoke to tennis star Alcaraz off the court and revealed they had been watching his performance at home.
The mother-of-three, who has stepped back from public royal duties while undergoing cancer treatment, said: “This is Charlotte, (she was) cheering you on. You had all hearts crossed.
Nine-year-olds Kate and Charlotte spoke to tennis talent Alcaraz off the court and revealed she had been watching tennis at home.
The mother-of-three, who has stepped back from public royal duties while undergoing cancer treatment, was pictured today with her daughter.
Alcaraz, dressed entirely in white and holding the trophy, replied: “Nice to meet you.”
Kate then said: “We’ve seen a lot on TV so it’s great to finally meet you,” before repeating herself as the athlete struggled to hear her.
A starstruck Charlotte looked slightly shy as she stood next to Kate and smiled at Alcaraz during their conversation, while her aunt Pippa stood behind the pair and beamed at the interaction.
Before presenting the trophy to Alcaraz, Kate commiserated and shook hands with runner-up Novak Djokovic.
Dressed in a bespoke Safiyaa gown worth £1,295, the royal was greeted with a standing ovation as she made her way to the royal box at Wimbledon earlier in the day.
Before the mother-daughter duo took their seats in the royal box, they met with stars of women’s tennis, including Emma Radacanu, 21, who presented Kate with a bouquet of flowers.
Charlotte was beaming from ear to ear as she met up with the tennis star, who sadly saw her Wimbledon dream crushed on Centre Court by New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun last week.
Kate and Charlotte were also greeted by Sonay Kartal, Lily Miyazaki, Lucy Shuker and Flora Johnson as they arrived on the players’ lawn at Wimbledon before entering Centre Court.
Charlotte made a pinky promise to Shuker, a wheelchair tennis player, that she would try the sport alongside her mother.
A starstruck Charlotte looked a little shy as she stood next to Kate and smiled at Alcaraz during their conversation, while her aunt Pippa stood behind the pair and smiled at the interaction.
Kate Middleton and Charlotte were smiling and smiling throughout the entire match.
Kate also met Raducanu, who was eliminated in the fourth round of this year’s championship, and told her: “It was really hard to see you go out.”
US Open winner Raducanu said it was “amazing” to have the support of the princess and “to see her here so healthy and happy.”
The daughter of the Prince and Princess of Wales, who wore a £70 polka dot dress from Guess, was delighted to meet the tennis star and was pictured grinning from ear to ear in his presence.
The mother and daughter then learned about the ‘Work at Wimbledon’ programme, which supports young people from different backgrounds who work at the championships.
Alcaraz now has four Grand Slam trophies with a perfect record in major finals, following his two Wimbledon triumphs, his US Open win in 2022 and his Roland Garros triumph last month. The loss denied Djokovic his 25th Grand Slam title to overtake Margaret Court on the all-time list and also equal Roger Federer’s haul of eight men’s singles titles at Wimbledon.
Ten-year-old Prince George was missing, perhaps indicating he will join his father at the Euro final in Berlin tonight.
During her meeting with the players, Kate said Charlotte, who was wearing a navy polka dot dress, had been “practising yesterday” and that tennis was “really great for the youngsters”.
Pippa Middleton, Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte were photographed today in the royal box
Kate said she had been “filling out the leaderboard” with Charlotte during Wimbledon, adding: “As a family, we play a lot.”
When Shuker asked her to try wheelchair tennis, Kate said: “I’ve tried wheelchair rugby before, but not tennis. You’ll have to hold me to it.”
Shuker, Britain’s top-ranked wheelchair tennis player, said: “I was just saying how amazing it’s been to watch and follow everyone’s career.
‘Alfie Hewett won the men’s wheelchair tennis just now. I just asked them if they played tennis too, which they have, and then I said, ‘Have you tried wheelchair tennis?’
“And I got a little pinky promise from Princess Charlotte that I would try.”
Shuker added: “It’s a great honour for me to be here and to have been asked to meet the princess today.”
Speaking about meeting Kate, Raducanu said: “It was really nice to see Her Royal Highness again. I’d met her twice before and it was really nice to meet Charlotte as well, because I hadn’t met her before.
‘It’s amazing to see her be a tennis champion and follow everyone.
“We talked a little bit about my tournament and tennis, and also about how I missed last year, but was really excited to be back this year. And a little bit about her tennis, because she loves it.”
Charlotte seemed delighted to meet Emma, a previous Grand Slam winner.
Princess Charlotte shared a sweet pinky swear with player Lucy Shuker
Nine-year-old Charlotte also joined her mother in the royal box last year. She was not joined by ten-year-old Prince George, perhaps indicating she will join her father at the Euro final in Berlin tonight.
Asked about Kate’s appearance at the tournament following her diagnosis, Raducanu said: “I think it just shows her resilience and how much of a role model she is and it’s amazing to see her here looking so healthy and happy.”
Kate has been undergoing chemotherapy and made her first public appearance since announcing her cancer diagnosis in March at the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London last month.
She did not attend the women’s singles final on Saturday, and Wimbledon president Debbie Jevans presented the trophy to Barbora Krejcikova on her behalf.
During their match on Sunday, Krejcikova presented the Princess of Wales with the racket she used during her victory.