Kate despatched message of hope to followers as she made return to Wimbledon

She made a spectacular comeback to public duties last month when she attended Trooping the Colour with the rest of the British Royal Family.

Now, the Princess of Wales, 42, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, has once again reassured the nation as she stepped out at Wimbledon in another triumphant return to the spotlight.

Being one of her favourite events of the year, it’s perhaps no wonder Kate, patron of the All England Lawn and Tennis Club, decided that her first solo appearance sine her diagnosis would be at the final day of SW19.

Whilst the mother-of-three enjoyed the support of her sister Pippa Middleton, 40, and her daughter Princess Charlotte, nine, at the championships, she wasn’t joined by another senior royal; Prince William was in Berlin to watch England’s Euros final.

In an emotional display of admiration, the Princess was greeted by a standing ovation when she arrived in the Royal Box at Centre Court to watch Carlos Alcaraz‘s victory over Novak Djokovic on Sunday.

Dressed in a £1,295 bespoke purple frock from Safiyaa, Kate beamed as she was welcomed by an eruption of cheers and applause from the more than 15,000 fans as she took her seat to watch the men’s finals.

Kate revealed in March that she has an unspecified form of cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy. 

Her lone public appearance since then had been attending last month’s birthday parade for King Charles. 

Before that event, she released a statement saying that she hoped to attend the occasional engagement over the summer but urged the public to bear with her as, like many cancer patients, she has ‘good and bad days’.

But it was said Wimbledon officials had remained ‘hopeful’ that Kate may feel well enough to hand out trophies over the weekend.

Thankfully, their hope proved to be right and in her role as patron of the All England Club, which hosts the annual tournament, the royal handed Alcaraz the champion’s trophy after the Wimbledon men’s final.

After leaving the court following the trophy ceremony, the princess and Alcaraz had a conversation in a room inside the tournament’s main stadium. ‘You played so well,’ Kate told him. ‘Enjoy the win.’

Earlier, Kate went from the stands down to the playing surface to present the trophies, and shook hands with some of the ball kids who worked at the tournament.

She then exchanged words with both players and applauded Alcaraz after giving him the winner’s trophy for the second year in a row.

‘It was, of course, a privilege to be in her presence again. I’ve said to her that it is very nice to see her in good health; she seems to be in good health,’ Djokovic said at his postmatch news conference. ‘That’s obviously very positive news for everyone in this country, but also for Wimbledon.’

Kate and her daughter, Princess Charlotte, got to the site of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament in southwest London in a motorcade about a half-hour before the final was scheduled to begin. 

They went to a terrace at the club that is connected to the main stadium by a pedestrian walkway and greeted several people, including 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu and other young British tennis players.

Also in the Royal Box for the final were Kate’s sister, Pippa Matthews, actors Tom Cruise and Benedict Cumberbatch and several past Wimbledon champions, including Rod Laver, Andre Agassi and Stefan Edberg.

Since 2016, Kate has been the patron of the All England Club. She did not attend Saturday when Barbora Krejcikova defeated Jasmine Paolini for the women’s title.

Kate 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 at Wimbledon before entering Centre Court.

Charlotte gave wheelchair tennis player Shuker a ‘pinky promise’ that she would try the sport alongside her mother.

Kate 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, Kate said Charlotte, who was wearing a navy polka dot dress, had been ‘practising yesterday’ and that tennis was ‘really great for the youngsters’.

Kate 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, Kate said: ‘I’ve tried wheelchair rugby before, but not tennis. You’ll have to hold me to that.’

Shuker, the highest ranked British wheelchair women’s tennis player, said: ‘She was just saying how amazing it’s been to watch and follow everyone’s career.

‘Alfie Hewett won the men’s wheelchair tennis earlier. I just asked if they were playing tennis themselves, which they have been, and then said: “Have you tried wheelchair tennis?” And I got a little pinky promise from Princess Charlotte that she would try it.’

Shuker added: ‘For me, it’s incredibly humbling to be here and to be asked to meet the princess today.’

Discussing her meeting with Kate, Raducanu said: ‘It was very nice to see Her Royal Highness again. I’ve met her twice before, and it was really nice to meet Charlotte as well, because I hadn’t before. 

‘It’s amazing to see her be such a champion of tennis and following all of us.

‘We just spoke a little bit about my tournament, and the tennis, and also how I missed last year but I was very excited to come back this year. And a little bit about her tennis because she loves it.’

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.’

Wimbledon wildcard entry Miyazaki said it was ‘really special’ to meet the royals. Asked about meeting Kate, Miyazaki said: ‘She’s had a really tough time and it was great to see her looking healthy.

‘It’s special to have that support from the royal family and it’s really cool to know that they are tennis fans.’

Before entering Centre Court, Kate also met people who had worked at this year’s championships.

Emmanuela Asamoah, a worker in the Wimbledon general office, said it was ‘insane’ to meet Kate and Charlotte, who she described as ‘really lovely people’.

Discussing her meeting with Kate, Ms Asamoah, 18, said: ‘She asked us a lot about our well-being first, which I found just so heartwarming. She introduced us to Princess Charlotte, which was so sweet.

‘They were just really lovely people in general. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer introduction to her.’

Earlier in the tournament, Kate paid tribute to double champion Sir Andy Murray, saying he should be ‘so very proud’ after he missed out on a final chance at Wimbledon.

In a personally-signed message on social media, the princess wrote: ‘An incredible Wimbledon career comes to an end. You should be so very proud @andy-murray. On behalf of all of us, thank you! C.’

Kate visited the championships several times last year and presented Alcaraz with his first Wimbledon trophy after watching him battle Djokovic in the men’s singles final.

On Friday, Kate missed a charity polo match as husband William took to the field to raise funds for good causes at Guards Polo Club in Windsor Great Park.

In a statement released last month, the princess revealed she is making good progress but ‘not out of the woods yet’ and has ‘good days and bad days’ as she continues her treatment.

The Prince of Wales, president of the Football Association, was in Berlin later on Sunday to attend England’s Euro 2024 final against Spain.

Some spectators at Wimbledon could be seen wearing white England football shirts at the championships on Sunday morning.