Kate, Princess of Wales, makes rare appearance at Wimbledon

Kate, the Princess of Wales, handed Carlos Alcaraz the champion's trophy after the Wimbledon men's final at the All England Club on Sunday in only her second public appearance since announcing she was diagnosed with cancer.

Kate, wife of heir to the throne Prince William, was greeted by a standing ovation when she arrived in the Royal Box at Centre Court to watch Alcaraz's victory over Novak Djokovic. 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 – wearing a purple dress, one of Wimbledon’s official colours – went from the stands down to the playing surface to present the trophies, part of her duties as patron of the All England Club, which hosts the annual tournament.

She shook hands with some of the ball kids who worked at the tournament, then exchanged words with both players and applauded for Alcaraz after giving him the winner's trophy for the second year in a row.

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain meets Princess Charlotte following his win in the men's singles final on Sunday. AP

"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 9-year-old 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.

Tom Cruise with Sophie Hunter watch the men's singles final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. AP

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

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 III. Before that event, she released a statement saying she was "making good progress” but still had "good days and bad days.”

Prince William has been a regular at Wimbledon finals but was not there on Sunday. Instead, he planned to be in Germany to watch England face Spain in the final of the men’s soccer European Championship. He is the president of the English Football Association.

Queen Camilla, wife of King Charles III, visited Wimbledon on Wednesday.

Associated Press