Princess Charlotte’s adorable reaction to standing ovation for mum Princess Kate at Wimbledon

When Princess Kate appeared at Wimbledon over the weekend with her daughter Princess Charlotte, the crowds stood and welcomed her to the Royal Box with a round of applause.

As she continues to undergo treatment for cancer, it’s not often that the Princess of Wales, 42, is seen in public these days - and while onlookers were excited to see her in person, no one could be prouder than 9-year-old Charlotte.

The young royal was photographed smiling up at her mum, who waved and smiled amid the standing ovation from the crowd.

Mother and daughter met with the Ladies champion ahead of the match, and Kate was gifted a tennis racquet used by Barbora Krejcikova to win the women’s final on Saturday.

The pair then took their seats in the Royal Box at Centre Court for the men’s singles final between Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, alongside Kate’s sister Pippa Middleton.

Photographer Karwai Tang snapped the emotional photo of Charlotte and her mother, and told People magazine: “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.”

Tang took another photo of the moment Charlotte returned to her seat with aunt Pippa after a break, sharing a laugh with her mum. “You can tell that all three of them were enjoying themselves - Charlotte is following the game like her mother. You can see their excitement,” he said.

Princess Charlotte and mum Kate Middleton were welcomed to the Royal Box with a standing ovation. Photo / Getty Images

It’s not the first time the young princess, who is third in line to the throne, has appeared at the sporting event. She made her debut at Wimbledon last year alongside her parents and her brother Prince George. Meanwhile, little brother Prince Louis, 6, is yet to appear at the tennis championship, and may not for another couple of years as his siblings both attended for the first time at the age of 8.

They are the exception to the no-kids rule for the Royal Box.

Prince William did not appear, as he travelled to Germany with Prince George instead to support the England football team in the Euro 2024 final against Spain.

Kate’s appearance at Wimbledon comes weeks after she attended Trooping the Colour in celebration of the King’s birthday - her first official engagement since her cancer diagnosis became public.

Ahead of her appearance, Wimbledon organisers told Britain’s Daily Telegraph that they planned to give her “as much flexibility as possible” in hopes she would attend and be able to hand out trophies to the winners.

This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.