It doesn’t happen often, but Kate Middleton and Prince William shared a PDA moment on Tuesday. Admittedly, the moment was short in duration — but since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are the royal couple known for expressing their affection in public, seeing even a quick instance from Kate and Will was enough to catch people’s attention. The PDA played out as the Duchess and Duke of Cambridge celebrated volunteers who staff their special mental health crisis line, Shout.
The event, held at Troubadour White City Theatre, served as an opportunity for Kate and William to thank the volunteers who man Shout’s response team. Launched six months ago, the service offers free and confidential mental health support via text. Per People, around 600 conversations take place through Shout each day, with the most frequent subjects discussed being suicide (37 percent), depression (36 percent), relationships (29 percent), anxiety (31 percent), isolation (19 percent) and self-harm (17 percent). So, the event on Tuesday served as an opportunity for Kate and William to thank the volunteers staffing Shout, as well as an opportunity for those volunteers to meet each other.
And it was there, while greeting people, that William was caught on video gently rubbing his wife’s back. It was quick, true, but it was also sweet and a rare glimpse at the typically buttoned-up couple letting their guard down for a moment.
A little rub on the back for Kate from William. pic.twitter.com/FeJuIYolFT
— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) November 12, 2019
Kate and Will’s rare PDA moment was still within the boundaries of what is considered proper royal protocol. Alternately, Meghan and Harry have been known to bend (or even break) a few rules with their affectionate behavior towards one another. From their lovey first appearance as a couple at the Invictus Games in 2017 to holding hands at nearly every public event since, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are no strangers to PDA.
Neither way is wrong. In fact, as royal etiquette expert Myka Meier once explained to People, “Senior members of the royal family would likely not be told how to interact or when they can or cannot show PDA and would be trusted to use their better judgment as to when it’s appropriate. The royals often adjust PDA to mirror the formality of the event they are attending.”
So, basically, when and where royals show PDA is a matter of discretion and personal preference. Having said that, since Kate and Will are less inclined to exhibit PDA, it’s heartwarming to see it when it does happen.
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