Princess Charlotte made her Wimbledon debut yesterday alongside her parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and her older brother Prince George, who himself made his debut at the tournament last year. The men’s singles final was between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, and Alcaraz—who hails from Spain—emerged victorious.
The princess wore a blue dress with flutter sleeves by Spanish brand Friki—which we linked to shop yesterday. Hello reports that the eight-year-old’s dress was intentionally chosen—likely not by Charlotte herself—as King Felipe of Spain was in attendance as well, supporting Alcaraz. One Twitter fan suggested Charlotte wore the dress to show respect to King Felipe, who Charlotte interacted with, chatting with him in the Royal Box where she took in the day’s events with her family.
“Awww King Felipe catching up with Catherine and Princess Charlotte,” a fan wrote on Instagram. Another commented “Look at Charlotte’s face when talking to a king. She’s a born queen.” A third added “Adore that look on Princess Charlotte’s face. Totally absorbed.”
To add another layer to the intentionality behind the choice of the dress, Charlotte’s nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, is from Spain as well, and Charlotte has never known life without her. “A Spanish dress from Maria to honor Felipe,” a Twitter user wrote, suggesting that Borrallo purchased the dress for Charlotte.
After Alcaraz’s victory, Charlotte got the chance to meet the champion, and the typically confident princess suddenly turned shy and starstruck, The Mirror reports, hiding behind her mom, who had just presented Alcaraz with his trophy moments before. (The outlet also reports that Charlotte “punched the air in delight when Carlos Alcaraz hit the winning shot to net his first-ever Wimbledon title”—adding more fuel to the fire that she’s a fan.) Alcaraz was also congratulated by King Felipe as well as William and George.
“The youngster seemed over-awed to meet the new Wimbledon champion and, at one point, even dashed behind mum Kate’s back as others around them congratulated the 20-year-old,” The Mirror reports.
It seems the young princess is already a fan of the young champion, The Mirror reports. As Alcaraz was crowned, fans noticed her “tender look” towards him, with one writing “PRINCESS CHARLOTTE IS MAKING MY HEART MELT LOOK AT HOW SHE’S LOOKING AT ALCARAZ.” Another wrote “That’s a very tender look. She’s very happy for him.” A BBC commenter even noticed her loving look as cameras panned over to the Royal Box during the celebrations after his victory: “She’s very happy Carlos won,” he quipped.
Another fan wrote “She’s gorgeous and I loved the cheer for her from the crowd!” and another joked “Princess Charlotte gonna be plastering Carlos Alcaraz posters all over her wall!”
Another fan even wondered if her big day at Centre Court might prompt her to pursue tennis herself—“Any chance Princess Charlotte fancies having a go at tennis?” the user asked. “She genuinely looks like she loved it.” It wouldn’t be too far off base, as Charlotte is athletic, and Kate herself plays tennis at their court installed at their country home, Anmer Hall, on the Sandringham estate.
A fan of Alcaraz, a nanny from Spain, and respect shown to the country’s King—maybe that choice of dress designer wasn’t so random after all…
