The Spanish third seed produced a performance combining awesome power with delicate touch to win 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4), collecting the fourth Grand Slam of his young career.
Alcaraz equals the Open Era record for most Grand Slams won at the age 21 or under, joining Boris Becker, Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander.
And he is just the sixth man to win the French Open and Wimbledon back to back.
Djokovic, 37, who had knee surgery just weeks ago, was aiming to win a 25th Grand Slam - which would have been a record in the men’s and women’s game.
But he had no answers in the Centre Court sunshine as the electric Alcaraz pounded him from the back of the court and treated the crowd to an array of his trademark drop shots.
“Honestly, it is a dream for me winning this trophy,” said the Spaniard. “I did an interview when I was 11 and I said my dream is to win Wimbledon.
“For me this is the most beautiful tournament, the most beautiful court and the most beautiful trophy.”
Alcaraz paid tribute to his beaten opponent, who only found his range in the third set.
“Djokovic is an unbelievable fighter, I knew he was going to have his chances,” said Alcaraz, who had needed five sets to defeat the Serb in the 2023 final.
“It was difficult but I tried to stay calm going into the tie-break and tried to play my best tennis. I was glad at the end I could find the solutions.”
Breakthrough
Alcaraz seized the initiative in a first game of breathtaking quality lasting 14 minutes, taking advantage of his fifth break point.
The Spaniard settled quickly into his routine on serve and went up a double break when Djokovic double-faulted in the fifth game.
The shell-shocked Serbian, playing in his 10th Wimbledon final, held serve to love to close the gap to 5-2 but dumped the ball into the net to hand the Spaniard the first set.
Alcaraz was immediately on the front foot in the second set, forcing a break in the first game and fending off pressure on his own serve to take a 2-0 lead.
A Djokovic backhand into the net in the seventh game handed Alcaraz another break point and a double fault put the defending champion 5-2 up and on the cusp of a two-set lead.
The Centre Court crowd, including Catherine, Princess of Wales, looked on in disbelief as their hopes for a titanic tussle evaporated.
The under-par Djokovic fended off another of clutch of break points early in the third set to stay alive and showed signs that he was finding his rhythm.
But Alcaraz broke for a 5-4 lead and moved to 40-0 on his own serve, only to suffer a wobble as Djokovic saved all three championship points, breaking for the first time in the match.
He recovered his composure quickly and the set went to a tie-break.
Djokovic went wide with a forehand to give Alcaraz a 5-3 lead and the Spaniard won the title with his fourth championship point, clambering up to the players’ box to celebrate with his family and coaching team.
The champion struck 42 winners to Djokovic’s 26 over the course of the match.
Princess Catherine, patron of the All England Club, handed over the trophy.
Last month she tentatively returned to British public life for the first time since her diagnosis, attending a military parade in London to mark King Charles III’s official birthday.
Djokovic, still without a title this year, will now turn his attention to the Paris Olympics as he seeks to win gold for the first time.
“It obviously was not the result I wanted but of course in the first couple of sets the level of tennis wasn’t up to par from my side,” he said.
“But credit to Carlos for playing elite tennis, especially from the back of the court, he had it all today.”
Krejcikova on top
Meanwhile, in the women’s singles final on Saturday, Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic defeated Italy’s Jasmine Paolini to record her second Grand Slam singles triumph.
Krejcikova, the 31st seed, won 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to add the 2024 All England Club crown to her 2021 French Open victory.
Her win comes 26 years after her mentor Jana Novotna, who died of cancer in 2017, claimed the Wimbledon title.
“Before she passed away, she told me to go and win a Slam. I did that in Paris in 2021 but I never dreamed of winning the same trophy that Jana did,” said the 28-year-old Krejcikova, who secured the title in a nervy final service game on a third championship point.
“It’s unreal what just happened. The best day of my tennis career and the best day of my life.
“I was just telling myself to be brave. It was such a difficult match, a great final, a great competition and I’m super happy to be standing here enjoying this moment.”
Krejcikova, who will return to the top 10 following her victory, came into Wimbledon after a testing season.
A back injury and illness meant she went winless on the tour from February until June.
“I was injured and ill and didn’t have a good start to the season and now I’m Wimbledon winner. How did that happen?”
“I think nobody’s going to believe I won Wimbledon. I still can’t believe it. Two weeks ago (first round) I had a very tough match, 7-5 in the third set and I wasn’t in good shape.”
The result means seventh-seeded Paolini has lost two Grand Slam finals back-to-back after coming off second best to Iga Swiatek at the French Open last month.
“I’m a little bit sad but I try to keep smiling. I have to remember today is still a good day,” said Paolini, who had never won a grass-court match in her career until last month.
“I remember watching Wimbledon as a kid cheering for Roger Federer, so to be here now is crazy. It’s been a beautiful two weeks.”
She added: “Barbora, you played unbelievable. You play such beautiful tennis. Congrats to you and your team.”
Krejcikova set the tone at the start of the match by breaking the Italian in the opening game and backing up the advantage with a hold to love.
Nervy conclusion
Paolini, the first Italian woman to reach a Wimbledon singles final, had to save two break points in the third game but she cracked under the strain again as the composed Czech stormed into a double-break ahead for 4-1.
Krejcikova moved to three set points in the eighth game and only needed one as Paolini dumped a backhand return into the net.
The nerve-wracked Italian managed to claim just four points on the Czech’s serve in the 35-minute opener. Krejcikova hit 10 winners to the Italian’s five.
Paolini dashed off Centre Court for a bathroom break and returned re-energised.
She had also dropped the first set in her marathon semi-final triumph over Donna Vekic and on Saturday she launched another second set fightback.
Breaks in the second and eighth games levelled the final after a set in which Krejcikova made 14 unforced errors to seven for her opponent, taking her double-fault count to a tournament-high of 33.
The Czech managed just four winners in the set as she went spectacularly off the boil.
However, momentum shifted dramatically back in her favour in the decider when Paolini double-faulted to surrender a break and fall 3-4 behind.
Krejcikova held to love for 5-3 but endured a nervy conclusion, requiring three championship points and saving two break points in the 10th game to seal the title.