At state visits, walkabouts, and public appearances, Prince William
and Princess Catherine are the picture of sophistication and royal protocol. Still,
they sneak in some occasional PDA, and the interactions captured on camera are royally cute.
When Prince William finally popped the question to then-girlfriend Kate Middleton,
the public let out a sigh of relief. Princess Catherine had been waiting
for so long for a proposal that she had even garnered the nickname "Waity Kaity." And when
the couple announced their engagement, they were absolutely beaming. Their
interlocked arms and nervous — but excited — glances at one another were adorable.
Sitting down for their official engagement interview on November 16, 2010, the newly
engaged couple described the moment William got down on one knee during a trip to Kenya.
Catherine, stunning in blue and wearing Diana
Spencer's iconic sapphire and diamond engagement ring on her finger, said,
"It was very romantic. There's a true romantic in there."
William agreed, then explained a little more about the timing.
"As every guy out there will know, it takes a certain amount of motivation to get yourself
going. [...] And then it just felt really right out in Africa. It was beautiful."
Prince William and Princess Catherine follow royal protocol pretty much to the
letter. They're poised, balanced, and always ready with their game
faces. But that hasn't stopped them from sharing a little PDA every now and then.
While attending the BAFTA Awards in 2023, the public was stunned to see Catherine not only
touch her husband — something she rarely does in public — but give him a flirty pat on the butt.
According to a Daily Mail interview with lip reader Sophie Martell,
Catherine spotted a couple engage in a little butt tap within the crowd that had gathered near
the red carpet. She turned to William to ask if he'd witnessed the exchange, too, saying,
"That man. He tapped her on the bottom."
William replied, "Did he?" And then, in an uncharacteristically candid moment, Catherine
demonstrated by giving William his own flirty butt tap — on the red carpet no less. As always,
their appearance at the awards was heavily watched with crowds craning to see them,
but Catherine was feeling saucy and didn't hesitate to show it.
Athletes from around the world descended on London for the 2012 Olympic Games. Naturally,
the royal family was out in full swing to support Team Great Britain. Of course,
any fan of Prince William and Princess Catherine knows that the couple are, in fact, quite
sports-oriented. Both played a variety of sports in their younger years, and William plays polo
to this day. So it's no surprise that they were frequently in the stands during the 2012 Olympics.
The royal couple were cheering on Team Great Britain during the men's track cycling event
when they — seemingly in reaction to the success on the track — embraced each other
in an adorable hug. Catherine was all smiles in her official Adidas Olympic team polo shirt,
and William was beaming alongside her. To make their appearance at the event even sweeter,
William and Catherine participated in the "wave" as it moved through the stands.
Like his father, King Charles, William is a dedicated conservationist who puts his
money where his mouth is. As one of the founders of the Earthshot Prize,
every year William awards one million euros to each of five
winners who come up with innovative and dynamic solutions to the climate crisis.
"The urgency needed to save the planet is ever accelerating. While the time we
have to make meaningful changes is ebbing away."
The prize winners are celebrated at the Earthshot Prize Awards,
and the event held in 2021 gave royal fans an absolutely lovely
moment of PDA between William and Princess Catherine. In a behind-the-scenes shot,
Catherine and William were caught laughing as they wrapped their arms around each other's
waists. The fact that the picture was circulated in black and white made the moment seem timeless.
Catherine, of course, made headlines at the 2021 awards for re-wearing a dress she had
been seen in a decade prior. Rocking a stunning lilac purple Alexander McQueen
gown that she had previously worn to the BAFTA Awards, Catherine made a definitive statement:
that recycling your wardrobe is not beneath a royal. William, meanwhile,
looked handsome in a velvet tuxedo jacket, and the pair's sweet moment of PDA reminded
everyone that they were — and are — a loving couple on a mission to better the world.
Intimate interactions between Prince William and Princess Catherine are so limited that
even a shared glance can stop a royal watcher in their tracks. When the couple traveled stateside
to attend the 2022 Earthshot Prize Awards, their American fans came out in droves to
catch a glimpse of them. And once again, William and Catherine did not disappoint.
Catherine looked beautiful in a green column gown that she accessorized with the iconic emerald and
diamond choker Princess Diana once wore as a headband. William, on the other hand, looked
dapper as ever, and the two walked the carpet like seasoned pros. Though they hit their standard,
no-contact poses for the cameras, William and Catherine snuck in a number of sweet interactions,
smiling and touching each other on the arm in a supportive — and flirtatious — manner.
To say that they looked like royal rock stars while doing so is an understatement.
Everyone knows pregnancy isn't easy. And if you're a working royal – on your feet,
traveling throughout the Commonwealth, shaking hands, wearing heels — it's a lot.
Princess Catherine's three pregnancies were challenging in both a professional
and physical sense. She suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum each time. Catherine
opened up about the experience on Giovanna Fletcher's Happy Mum, Happy Baby, saying,
"[It was] utterly rotten. I was really sick. I wasn't eating the
things I should be eating and yet the body was still able to take all the
goodness from my body and to grow new life, which I think is fascinating."
Catherine said of her pregnancies,
"William didn't feel he could do much to help and it's hard to see you're
suffering without actually being able to do anything about it."
The couple's third child, Prince Louis, was born on April 23,
2018. And when the two stepped out of London's St. Mary's Hospital with their newborn son,
William was right there with a sweet and supportive hand around Catherine's waist
as she held tiny Louis. The couple couldn't have looked more in sync with one another.
Anyone who considers themselves a royal fan knows that it was on the polo field
that then-Prince Charles and Diana Spencer shared their most intimate
moments of PDA. And it seems as though Prince William and Princess Catherine
have followed in their footsteps. One of their most publicly affectionate
days came when William was competing at a charity polo match in Windsor in 2022.
William and his team took home the winning trophy,
raising over $1 million for charity in the process. Congratulating her husband on his
victory, Catherine gave William a kiss on the cheek and embraced him in a half-hug in
the process. That's quite a lot of PDA for a couple that follows the royal rules to a tee.
It was a big day for royal fans dying for a glimpse of any physical interaction between
the pair. After the match, William and Catherine wrapped their arms around each other's waists as
they walked off the field. Royal etiquette expert Myka Meier told People that it's up
to William and Catherine to make the call about public displays of affection, saying,
"Senior members of the royal family would likely not be told how to interact. The
royals often adjust PDA to mirror the formality of the event they are attending."
"Be careful what you say now, 'cuz these guys,
they're filming everything." "I know."
Meier explained that William and Catherine would curtail their physical displays of
affection if they were at any kind of event that was more formal or sad in nature. She explained,
"At a somber or more formal event,
we are less likely to see PDA than at a casual event where it would be deemed more fitting."
As part of their roles as senior members of the royal family,
Prince William and Princess Catherine have traveled across the world to represent
the monarchy and advocate for causes and charities close to their hearts.
Embarking on a ten-day trip to New Zealand in 2014 with a very young Prince George, William
and Catherine garnered even more favor from the public. They presented themselves as loving
parents with their eyes firmly set on respecting the culture and people of New Zealand. Greeted by
Prime Minister John Key as they disembarked the plane, William, Catherine, and George — who was
just eight months old at the time — looked the picture of royal sophistication while doing so.
In an interview with The Guardian, Key remarked,
"I don't think their enthusiasm for coming to New Zealand has
been dampened at all by the fact it was a little bit wet on the tarmac."
The tour was a rousing success. The couple embraced traditional displays of haka, respected
the traditions of the indigenous peoples, and even gave George time to shine. If royal watchers
weren't pleased enough, a candid moment of PDA between the couple was caught on camera while
they attended the Rippa Rugby event at Forsyth Barr Stadium toward the end of their tour.
It wouldn't be a roundup of Prince William and Princess Catherine's cutest moments of
PDA without including their iconic kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following
their wedding. And in the years since, experts have deciphered exactly what
William and Catherine said to one another while waving to the crowds.
"Wow," Catherine said when she stepped out onto the balcony,
taking in the moment and the thousands of people gathered to celebrate their wedding.
After exchanging a quick kiss to satisfy the cheering fans, William said to Catherine,
"Let's give them another one. I love you. One more kiss, one more kiss. Okay?"
Of course, the couple's second kiss made the crowd roar with approval,
and if there was one moment that proved just how influential William and Catherine
would become as the royal family's most dynamic couple, that was it.