Prince William had an unexpected reaction when his wife, Kate Middleton, was called ‘beautiful’ by a royal fan.
Earlier this week, on Thursday (22 May), the Prince and Princess of Wales attended the ceremonial ship naming of the HMS Glasgow in Scotland, where the Royal Navy ship’s sponsor, Kate, delivered a brief speech and broke a bottle of whiskey against the ship’s hull in accordance with christening tradition.
The couple, who married in 2011, were seen going past a swarm of fans eager to catch a view of the action, with one yelling a compliment to the mother-of-three before remembering they should do the same to her husband William, who was walking right by her.
One video shared to social media shows one fan off-camera saying to Kate: “You’re beautiful!”
They then quickly added: “You too, William!”
The royal couple laughed together before the heir to the throne light-heartedly replied: “You don’t have to say that. Don’t worry!”
He then placed his hand on Kate’s arm as they walked away out of sight.
William and Kate met while studying at the famous St Andrews University in Scotland.
After marrying in 2011, they had three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, born in 2013, 2015, and 2018.
Despite owning her royal title for more than a decade, the princess is often referred to by her maiden name, ‘Middleton’.
Megan Boyle, a public relations specialist, told Express.co.uk that it is most likely owing to the ‘fairytale quality’ of her relationship with Prince William.
She explained: “Ultimately, we’ve always known Kate Middleton as Kate Middleton, and it can be difficult to break that habit.
“She has been in our life for so long that Royals supporters have developed an almost parasocial bond with her. Part of the appeal of Kate and William’s relationship stems from the fairytale aspect: courtship, engagement, and marriage to a real prince, almost as if something similar could happen to us.
“It stands as a reminder that the name won over so many people in the first place; she’s just a normal person like you and me – who just so happens to be a princess.”
On top of this, Boyle said that social media and SEO – the act of improving your website’s visibility in search engine results – play a huge part.
“Of course, there’s also the internet playing a big part here,” she continued. “From an SEO perspective, the internet knew Kate Middleton as Kate Middleton first and foremost, and people still overwhelmingly search for ‘kate middleton’ as opposed to ‘princess catherine’ – so the media outlets are unlikely to risk losing their real estate on Google by changing how they refer to her.
