The Princess in Purple Safiyaa at Wimbledon with Princess Charlotte

The Princess of Wales chose a Safiyaa dress for her engagement at Wimbledon today. 

The Princess was joined by her daughter, Princess Charlotte. In this image, you see Deborah Jevans CBE on the right. She is the chair of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Prince William and Prince George are in Berlin, cheering on England in the Euro Cup Final match against Spain.

Before the match, the royals spoke with competitors Lucy Shuker, Lily Miyazaki, Sonay Kartal, and Flora Johnson. In this photo, you see the Princess shaking hands with England’s Emma Raducanu.

Princess Charlotte shakes hands.

The duo spoke with Barbora Krejcikova, who took the Ladies Finals title yesterday in a match against Jasmine Paolini. Princess Charlotte is holding the racket used by Ms. Krejcikova in yesterday’s victory.

The royals head across the bridge to Centre Court. Today’s engagement is the Princess’s second appearance since her March statement announcing her cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Pippa Matthews, the Princess of Wales’s younger sister, also joined the pair for today’s match.

When she arrived in the Royal Box, the Princess was given a rousing ovation from the crowd. 

A wonderful Centre Court welcome for our Patron HRH The Princess of Wales 💜#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/HGcphka27P

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2024

I loved the look on Princess Charlotte’s face during the applause for her mother.

More from this People article. 

Photographer Karwai Tang tells PEOPLE, “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.”Lord Frederick Windsor and Lady Windsor, nee Sophie Winkleman.

Other royals at Wimbledon today included Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
Embed from Getty Images

As well as Lord Frederick Windsor and Lady Windsor, née Sophie Winkleman. 

There was no shortage of notable names in the Royal Box today. Among those watching the match from that location: tennis great Stan Smith (royal blue blazer) and his wife Marjory, Lleyton and Bec Hewitt, filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie (light tan jacket), Tom Cruise, Sophie Hunter (yellow dress), Benedict Cumberbatch, Julia Roberts, former Wimbledon Chair Philip Brook and Gill Brook.

All were on hand to watch the Gentlemen’s Final match between Serbian champion Novak Djokovic and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.

More on the match from this piece in The Guardian. 

For Carlos Alcaraz, a second Wimbledon title on Sunday would mean a fourth grand slam in the bag and at the age of 21, it would set him well on the way towards becoming an all-time great. For Novak Djokovic, the 37-year-old stands on the verge of a record 25th grand slam title, a mark that may never be beaten. History is on the line.

Mr. Alcaraz returning a shot.

The crowd seated on the Hill at Wimbledon watching the match.

The Princess chatting with her aunt Pippa.

A mother/daughter moment. 

The threesome watching the match. 

We return to Wimbledon’s coverage. 

The passing of the baton, the changing of the guard – call it what you like. The simple fact is that Carlos Alcaraz is the new king of the Centre Court and Novak Djokovic, the mighty collector of Grand Slam titles, has been deposed.

Alcaraz defended his Wimbledon title with a masterclass, dismissing Djokovic 6-2, 6-2 7-6(4).

Mr. Alcaraz reacts to his win. 

The match’s conclusion meant it was time for the Princess to head to the court for the trophy presentation.

Another view. 

A wave for the crowd. 

The Princess presented Mr. Djokovic with his trophy. 

And awarded the champion with the Challenge Cup.

The Princess’s sister and daughter watching the trophy ceremony. 

A wide shot. 

After the presentation, the Princesses spoke with the champ. 

Here is a quick video. 

The Princess of Wales meeting Men’s Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz 🎾#PrincessofWales pic.twitter.com/d9yOFgV2ju

— Prie 🐞 (@RoyalDelhiite) July 14, 2024

A year ago, Spain’s King Felipe was on hand at the match to congratulate Mr. Alcaraz on his win. 

This year King Felipe is in Berlin for the Euro match. In the photo, you see Princess Sofia of Spain, the King, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, Prince William, and Prince George. 

El Rey y la Infanta Sofía, junto al Príncipe de Gales y el Príncipe George, en el partido final de la UEFA EURO 2024 entre las selecciones de España e Inglaterra.#EURO2024 #ESPENG

➡️https://t.co/o1Uiytwmk7 pic.twitter.com/HeBh8OWLjW

— Casa de S.M. el Rey (@CasaReal) July 14, 2024

Spain won the match today, 2-1.

Now for our look at what Kate wore for today’s tennis match. As patron of the All England Club, purple makes perfect sense for the Princess; it is one of the club’s colors.

She was in the Safiyaa Cecilia Lilac Midi Dress (£1295, about $1650 at today’s exchange rates). It is described as an “A-line midi dress with twist bodice and structured sleeves in lilac heavy crepe.” The material is a blend of 92% polyester and 8% elastane, and the dress can be made with the v-neckline seen on the left or the higher neck shown in the middle.

Here is a closer look at the raised and pleated sleeves. 

Thoughts on the look from this column by Vanessa Friedman of the NY Times. 

The princess has long understood her role as a symbol of continuity and the future of the royal family, and she dresses for it. Her illness and subsequent retreat from public view, and the relatively small drip of information about her condition, have only heightened the import of each step back into the spotlight. She would know the image would be picked over, disseminated and analyzed for any clue to her prognosis.

And Safiyaa, one of Catherine’s go-to labels, is a female-founded British brand that makes all its products to order, in part to avoid the issue of overstock. (See the alignment with the Prince and Princess of Wales’s sustainability efforts, which include Catherine’s very public shopping of her own closet.) She last wore a caped look from Safiyaa to the Royal Variety Performance in December, before stepping back from the public eye.

The Princess brought back her Milly handbag by LK Bennett, a 1960s-inspired design crafted of Nappa leather. The bag is decorated with brogue detailing on the front flap and goldtone hardware, and it comes with a detachable crossbody leather strap. The piece was first carried in June 2021 during an engagement with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. 

When leaving the club, the Princess was also seen carrying her Victoria Beckham Quincy tote.

Her shoes were also a repeat, they were initially worn to a charity polo match last July. They are by Camilla Elphick, the Lucia Tan Slingbacks ($395).

The Princess wore a new pair of earrings that very much look like the Sabine Hoops ($650) in the medium size from By Pariah, a London-based jewelry label. They are made of sterling silver and 14K gold vermeil. The earrings are also available at Harvey Nichols ($558). 

Thank you to Middleton Maven, Caroline Parr, and Danielle for their fab ID work on the earrings. 

We saw the return of one of the Princess’s Halcyon Days bracelets, the Salamander Torque Bangle in Forget Me Not ($215), shown second from the left. I think the new bracelet may be the Hammered Torque Forget Me Not ($165).

The Princess wore her Wimbledon pin in the Club’s purple and green colors.  This Today piece offers more on its significance.

A representative for the AELTC told TODAY Style the duchess’s bow is reserved for the club’s patron, president, committee of management, vice presidents and four members of their executive staff.

The Princess repeated her Victoria Beckham Sunglasses ($345).

They remain available at multiple outlets, including Designer Optics ($196) and Baltini ($178). 

With thanks to Found by Bojana, it looks like Princess Charlotte is wearing a dress by GUESS, the brand’s Polka Dot Chiffon Dress (now sold out). It is a lightweight polyester fabric with sheer, frilly sleeves, a sash at the waist, ruffled hem, and self-covered buttons.

Her sunglasses were the Ray-Bans Kids Sunglasses in Polished Transparent Pink, with thanks to Royal Fashion Police for the ID.  

Middleton Maven reports Pippa Matthews was in the Beulah London Peony Teaberry Floral dress worn to last September’s wedding of her brother James Middleton and Alizée Thevenet. 

Kensington Palace released a video after the match. 

Congratulations @carlosalcaraz on your remarkable victory.

Thank you to everyone who works so hard to make @Wimbledon the spectacle that it is 👏 🍓 🎾 pic.twitter.com/Ko99725iYR

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) July 14, 2024

 VIDEOS

The Royal Family Channel offers almost four minutes of coverage in this video. 

Kensington Palace released a video of Prince William and Prince George arriving for today’s match. 

Hello, Berlin! #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/Df94LYIBCN

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) July 14, 2024