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Nearly every time Prince William and his wife, the Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton), step out in public they’re smiling and laughing. It’s not surprising that with cameras constantly on them that they would try to put on a brave face. However, they are only human like the rest of us and during one royal visit, Kate showed some unexpected emotions toward her husband.

Here’s what a body language expert had to say about a few photos of the princess looking furious with William during a royal visit.

Prince William and Kate Middleton attend the Queen's Birthday Garden Party during visit to Poland
Prince William and Kate Middleton attend the Queen’s Birthday Garden Party during visit to Poland | Pool/Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage

Expert says Kate is an ‘accomplished masker’ of emotions but showed ‘fury’ during event

In 2017, the couple embarked on a royal tour to Germany and Poland with Prince George and Princess Charlotte. During a garden party at the Orangery in Warsaw, the princess was photographed scowling at William as he gave a speech. Her expression did not go noticed and prompted “rumors that they were arguing and that Kate was furious with the prince about something.”

Body language expert Judi James analyzed that photo and a couple of others from that day in which Kate wasn’t looking cheery at all and told Express: “When we see a photo of a royal looking angry or stressed it can often be a body language ‘flash,’ i.e. a very fleeting facial expression that has been taken out of context.

“When we see the whole footage the message can be completely different, especially if it’s a royal like Kate, who is normally known for her pitch-perfect social smiles that she can keep in place without looking strained or inauthentic for long periods of time.”

Kate Middleton, who a body language expert pointed out was looking furious at Prince William, listens to him give a speech during an official visit to Poland
Kate Middleton listens to Prince William give a speech during an official visit to Poland | Julian Simmonds-Pool/Getty Images

James continued: “Kate is an accomplished masker, meaning she does her job in exactly the way she is expected to, without any flicker of negative emotions on her face. Except for this occasion back in 2017 on William and Kate’s visit to Warsaw. Kate’s unsmiling facial expression looked shocking and it wasn’t just a ‘flash.’

“There are several photos of the occasion that show her looking unhappy or even throwing William some pointed looks while he tried to remain neutral, with a faint, polite, closed-lip smile of what looked like regret or awkwardness. Kate’s eyes looked tired, with dark smudges underneath them and at one point she appeared to be looking down while biting the inside of her mouth as though holding back her emotions.”

Possible reason for the princess’s ‘fluctuating emotions’

The expert offered a reason for Kate’s “fluctuating emotions” that day explaining that “the displays of tension, tiredness, and wariness though might have been teased during a quote attributed to Kate on this tour. ‘We will have to have more babies’ was in reference to some gifts of baby clothes she was given but Louis was born around nine months later, meaning Kate might have had another reason for what looked like some fluctuating moods and emotions here.”

And, as mentioned, the couple did travel with their older children on this tour so it’s quite possible the princess was just tired.

Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds