Princess of Wales arrives at Wimbledon

The Princess attends Wimbledon for the women’s singles final, with Debbie Jevans, the chairman of AELTC - Jordan Pettitt/PA

The Princess of Wales has surprised guests at Wimbledon with an appearance ahead of the women’s singles final on Saturday.

The Princess, 43, received a standing ovation at the men’s singles final last year, in what was her second public appearance since announcing her cancer diagnosis.

The Princess, who is patron of The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC), is expected to present the trophy to the winner following the match between Amanda Anisimova and Iga Swiatek.

Upon arriving at SW19, the Princess met with two young people from the Work at Wimbledon programme, as well as the two foundation coin toss nominees.

She spoke to eight-year-old Lydia Lowe, who is representing the Dan Maskell Trust and was responsible for the coin toss for the wheelchair final.

The Princess is introduced to Lydia Lowe, eight, who is representing the Dan Maskell Tennis Trust - Jordan Pettitt/Reuters

The Princess asked the child, who overcame a brain injury last January and had to learn how to walk again, if she had any advice for the big day. “Don’t be nervous and take deep breaths,” the child replied.

She also talked with Sophie Kneen, 12, who will do the coin toss for this afternoon’s women’s final.

The Princess met Wang Ziying, the women’s wheelchair tennis champion – who won her final in straight sets – and Ralp Yin, her coach.

She also met Shaniah Williams and Jefferson Iweh, who are Work at Wimbledon representatives.

The Princess meets Ziying Wang, the women’s singles wheelchair champion, and her coach Ralph Yin - Jordan Pettitt - WPA Pool/Getty Images

The Princess spoke with Wimbledon’s longest-serving steward, Bob Flint, who has worked the Championships each year since 1980. She later waved to cheering crowds as she crossed a bridge over the grounds.

Her appearance at the final comes as she continues to find the right balance as she fully returns to public-facing engagements after her treatment last year.

She retreated from public life as she underwent a course of “preventative chemotherapy”, making only occasional public appearances over the following months.

More recently, she has gradually been increasing her workload but has made clear that her focus will remain firmly on her long-term recovery.

The Princess sits with Billie Jean King in the royal box - TOLGA AKMEN/EPA/Shutterstock

In recent weeks, she has made public appearances at Garter Day in Windsor and Trooping the Colour, as well as a handful of other solo engagements.

But she pulled out of a planned trip to Royal Ascot last month at the last minute after she had been expected to make a return to the racing spectacle following her absence the previous year.

She was said to be disappointed not to attend alongside her husband, the Prince of Wales, but continues to take each occasion as it comes.

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Other guests at Wimbledon’s royal box on Saturday included Billie Jean King, the former tennis champion, Kemi Badenoch, the Tory party leader, and Gordon Ramsay, the celebrity chef.

Last year, the Princess attended Carlos Alcaraz’s winning match against seven-time champion Novak Djokovic. She brought Princess Charlotte with her and was left emotional after receiving a standing ovation.

The Princess later awarded Alcaraz the trophy before a photograph posted on Wimbledon’s X account showed Charlotte shaking the hand of the champion as he held the prize.

The Waleses are keen tennis players and previously revealed that they are unable to finish a match because of their competitiveness.

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