Princess Kate attends Wimbledon men's final in rare public appearance amid cancer treatment

Princess Kate makes first public appearance since revealing cancer diagnosis

Catherine, Princess of Wales, made a rare public appearance amid her cancer treatment to attend the Wimbledon men's final on Sunday.

Kate, wife of heir to the throne Prince William, was greeted by a standing ovation from the Centre Court crowd as she took her seat in the Royal Box before the start of the championship match between defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. She will hand out the winner's trophy.

Kate, Princess of Wales, arrives on Centre Court ahead of the men's singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP

She 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 connected to the main stadium by a pedestrian walkway and greeted several people, including 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu and other young British tennis players.

Britain's Kate, the Princess of Wales, and her daughter, Princess Charlotte, arrive to attend the men's singles final match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Aaron Chown/Pool Photo via AP

Kate has been the patron of the All England Club since 2016, with ceremonial duties that include handing out the winner's trophy after each men's and women's singles final.

However, the 42-year-old royal did not attend Saturday's women's final between Jasmine Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova. Deborah Jevans, the chair of the All England Club, handed out the women's winner's trophy.

The Princess of Wales has only made one other public appearance since announcing in March that she had been diagnosed with cancer, which was to attend the birthday parade for King Charles III last month.

Kate released a statement before that event saying she was "making good progress" but still had "good days and bad days" as she continued her treatment.

She said she had "been blown away by all the kind messages of support and encouragement over the last couple of months. It really has made the world of difference to William and me and has helped us both through some of the harder times."

Prince William has also been a regular at Wimbledon finals but will not be at Sunday's match. He will instead attend the soccer final between England and Spain at the European Championship in Germany. William is the president of the English Football Association.

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

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