Kate Middleton Apparently Uses a ‘Signature’ Butt Tap To Send a Message to Prince William When They’re in Public

The British royal family are known for a lot of things but, typically, PDA is not one of them. Aside from the occasional kiss on the cheek, we rarely see any of the royal bunch engaging in any intimate displays but there is one royal couple that seems to be changing things.

Since their 2011 wedding, Prince William and Kate Middleton have done a lot to break down the family’s typically stiff, unemotional public persona and while they’re not exactly having make out sessions in the street, the happy couple does seem to show more PDA than most of their counterparts.

According to body language expert Judi James, William and Kate even have their own “signature” gestures that they use to communicate including a “butt pat” favored by Kate. While speaking to The Mirror, James noted that Kate did her move at King Charles III‘s recent Scottish Coronation.

“William and Kate always show signals of attentive listening to each other and here they did their signature ritual of adding either touch or truncated touch to communicate with both words and non-verbal gestures that show emotion,” James said, suggesting that William and Kate use physical touch to send a message of support to one another or to put one another at ease. “Kate even did her now signature bum-pat gesture and the couple tend to use eye contact and exchange smiles as they speak.”

After a ceremony in a Scottish cathedral during which Charles was presented with the Honors of Scotland, the family went to the Palace of Holyroodhouse to watch a Royal Air Forces flyover. James says that, during the flyover, the difference between how William and Kate interact versus Charles and Camilla was stark.

“The King and Queen are more like a ventriloquist act, both muttering asides to the other in a way that doesn’t look like real conversation but the ability to mutter may feel comforting for them both at events like this,” James explained. “They often overlap in their speech, which again suggests its a mutual support and comfort tool rather than a way of conversing verbally. There is no eye contact.”