Kate Middleton Has Proud Mom Moment as Princess Charlotte Shakes Hands with Wimbledon Champion Carlos Alcaraz
The 9-year-old was all smiles as she greeted the athlete following his big win on July 14
Kate Middleton is passing on her love of tennis to her daughter, Princess Charlotte.
On Sunday, July 14, the 9-year-old royal accompanied her mom to the Wimbledon men’s singles final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, where she got a very special moment with Alcaraz after his big win.
In a photo shared on the Wimbledon Instagram page, Princess Charlotte could be seen happily shaking Alcaraz’s hand after he beat Djokovic 6-2 6-2 7-6(4).
Princess Charlotte, who was wearing a polka-dot dress for the outing, was all smiles as she greeted the new champ, while Princess Kate beamed proudly next to her and supportively placed a hand on her back. Alcaraz also smiled and leaned forward slightly to give Charlotte his full attention.
“A handshake for the champion from HRH Princess Charlotte 💜,” Wimbledon captioned the shot.
The Princess of Wales, who is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, continued a royal Wimbledon tradition on Sunday by awarding the prizes to the players.
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Alcaraz and Djokovic both gave Kate a slight bow as she did the honors, shaking their hands and congratulating them.
Princess Kate’s appearance in the Royal Box at Centre Court marked a rare public outing for the royal as she continues to have treatment after revealing her cancer diagnosis in March.
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Her sister, Pippa Middleton, 40, also attended the men’s final, and as the trio took their seats, the crowd rose to their feet to give Princess Kate a standing ovation.
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The Princess of Wales appeared visibly moved by the gesture, smiling and waving to the crowd, while Princess Charlotte looked up at her mom in admiration.
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Karwai Tang, the photographer who captured the emotional moment on camera, told 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,” Tang added. “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.”
“Charlotte is following the game like her mother. You can see their excitement,” he told PEOPLE of the family outing, saying the mother-daughter duo was also spotted “giggling together and having a good old laugh.”
Kate’s appearance came after Kensington Palace confirmed she’d be attending the event on Saturday, July 13. She didn’t attend the women’s singles final on that day.
Prince William, who is president of the Football Association, was unable to attend Wimbledon over the weekend, as he instead traveled to Germany on July 14 with Prince George, 10, to watch England’s soccer squad take on Spain in the Euro 2024 championship game.
Sadly for the England soccer fans, the Three Lions lost the game 2-1.
