Kate, the Princess of Wales, hands Carlos Alcaraz his Wimbledon trophy in a rare appearance for her

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The Princess of Wales has arrived at the All England Club for the Wimbledon men’s final. Sunday’s outing is only her second public appearance since announcing she had been diagnosed with cancer.

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Carlos Alcaraz of Spain meets Princess Charlotte with Kate, Princess of Wales following his win in the men’s singles final over Novak Djokovic at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (Andrew Parsons/AELTC/Pool Photo via AP)

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Kate, Princess of Wales waves as she arrives on Centre Court ahead of the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Britain’s Kate, the Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte sit in the royal box to watch the men’s singles final between Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Novak Djokovic of Serbia, at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)

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Carlos Alcaraz of Spain receives his trophy from Kate, Princess of Wales after defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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The Princess of Wales presents Novak Djokovic with his runners up plate following defeat the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

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Carlos Alcaraz of Spain bows as he waits to receive his trophy from Kate, Princess of Wales after defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

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Novak Djokovic of Serbia receives his trophy from Kate, Princess of Wales following his loss to Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

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Tom Cruise, centre, stands with Benedict Cumberbatch, right, and Sophie Hunter, left, as he arrives on Centre Court ahead of the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Tom Cruise, left, speaks to Benedict Cumberbatch, right, and Shoppe Hunter in the Royal Box ahead of the men’s singles final match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

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Benedict Cumberbatch, with Shoppe Hunter in the Royal Box ahead of the men’s singles final match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

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Britain’s Princess Charlotte watches the trophy ceremony after the men’s singles final between Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Novak Djokovic of Serbia, at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)

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Kate, Princess of Wales reacts after presenting the trophy to Carlos Alcaraz of Spain after he defeated Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

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Kate, Princess of Wales meets a ball boy after the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

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Kate, Princess of Wales meets ground staff ahead of the trophy presentation for the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Kate, Princess of Wales waves to the crowd from the Royal Box, with her daughter Princess Charlotte, and her sister Pippa Matthews, left, looks on ahead of the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

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Kate, Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte watch the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Kate, Princess of Wales waves as she makes her way to Center Court ahead of the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

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

By HOWARD FENDRICH and MATTIAS KAREN

LONDON (AP) — 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 colors — 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.

“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.”

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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 U.S. 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.

Since 2016, Kate has been the patron of the All England Club. She did not attend 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 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.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis