Kate Middleton and Prince William at the Remembrance Festival

Royal family

Prince William and Kate Middleton Couldn’t Stop ‘Touching Each Other’ at First Big Joint Appearance in Months

Kate Middleton and Prince William spent the weekend marking Remembrance Day in the U.K.

by Mandi Kerr

Published on November 11, 2024

3 min read

Kate and William went to the Festival of Remembrance on Nov. 9, 2024

It was a busy weekend for Kate. On Nov. 9, 2024, she made her first major joint appearance with William since becoming “cancer-free” following preventative chemotherapy for an undisclosed type of cancer at the end of the summer.

They joined fellow British royals at the Royal Albert Hall for the annual Festival of Remembrance and the Service of Remembrance a day later (more on that ahead).

While Kat’s not officially back to work—ahem, royal duties—she’s slowly ramped up appearances in recent months. She joined William in Southport, England, in early October 2024. She’s also had two meetings at Windsor Castle.

Previously, Kate’s biggest public appearance came in June 2024 when she attended Trooping the Colour with William and their three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6.

They looked ‘newly in love’ at Royal Albert Hall

Speaking to the U.K.’s Mirror about William and Kate’s appearance, body language expert Judi James highlighted the pair’s affection for each other as they arrived at the Royal Albert Hall.

Kate’s “arrival with William showed some stunning body language signs of a change for them as a couple too,” James said. “In the few steps it took to leave the car and greet their hosts it was almost possible to lose count of the affectionate touch rituals and glances exchanged between them.”

They looked “compelled to keep touching each other in a behaviour [sic] you often normally see from couples newly in love,” she continued. (William and Kate celebrated 13 years of marriage in April 2024.) At one point, William put “an arm round Kate’s back,” which she reciprocated “by leaning back closer to him and putting a hand around his waist, suggesting mutual support and affection.”

That wasn’t all. William also dished out “three more touches or virtual hugs,” suggesting “he can’t bear to take his hands off Kate or let her go, during one of her first appearances back in public.”

Another British royal’s PDA with Kate Middleton over the weekend

William and Kate weren’t the only ones engaging in some PDA during the royal family’s festivities honoring veterans. Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, the wife of William’s uncle Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, showed her support for Kate with a “maternal” pat on the back.

The two stood next to each other at the royal family’s annual Service of Remembrance on Nov. 10, 2024. Typically, Kate is joined by Queen Camilla. However the 77-year-old skipped the event due to illness.

“She and Kate always appear to be close and to share a sense of humour [sic],” James said. “But Sophie’s gesture here seems to show her in a more maternal mode as she places on hand on or near Kate’s back as she stepped inside the building.”

“The gesture looked similar to the back touches William had been performing the night before,” the expert went on. “It registered fondness and maybe a small congratulatory ‘well done’ for another milestone achieved in terms of Kate’s return to royal duties.”

Additionally, it sent a message to the rest of the Wales family. “It also looked like a small but powerful signal to William and even George and Charlotte that, even when William is not at Kate’s side, she is still surrounded by [other members of the] royal family that are taking very good care of her, albeit subtly,” James said.