What's Behind Kate And William's Changed Relationship

Kate Middleton and Prince William have been married for over nine years and have three adorable kids. But some unusual signs have indicated that the couple's relationship might change, read on to find why.

1. Love At Second Sight

Before they wrote the first chapter in their love story, William and Katherine were  two students at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, and they became friends in 2001. With regards to their friendship, their acquaintance was entirely platonic initially, but things changed shortly after a fashion show.

2. "Kate Is Hot!"

On March 27, 2002, Middleton was a model at the Don't Walk show, and William spent $275 to get a ticket on the front row. When the future duchess walked down the catwalk with a see-through dress that revealed her underwear, William whispered to his friend, "Wow, Kate's hot!" That catwalk moment made a huge difference for Catherine and William's future.

3. Lovebirds

After the show, William began dating Kate. A source for Katie Nicholl's book William and Harry said, "Kate played it very cool, and at one point when William seemed to lean in to kiss her, she pulled away. She didn't want to give off the wrong impression or make it too easy for Will." After a torrid affair, the pair cautiously hid their romance from the paparazzi.

4. Unexpected Breakup

Though they even didn't hold hands in front of people, the news still leaked out. Press coverage about Kate kept annoying her, and she even had to take legal action to protect herself. The future Duke and Duchess of Cambridge subsequently broke up in 2007. But what happened next showed that the couple were meant to be together.

5. Reunited Soon After

By June 2007, they reconciled. Kate surprised William by appearing at a party at his training barracks. Later, Kate admitted that she was unhappy and "consumed" by the relationship, but she realized the breakup had made her stronger, and she knew more about herself.

6. Engagement

After all the ups and downs, Kate Middleton and Prince William finally declared their engagement on 16 November 2010. Mario Testino took the official engagement pictures for them, but he wasn't satisfied with the usual formal and serious ones. When the staff were about to leave, William and his fiancee naturally hugged, and Testino captured the sweet moment.

7. Wedding

A decade after they got to know each other, William and Kate's relationship evolved— and they tied the knot in Westminster Abbey. Royals are not usually demonstrative even at their own weddings, but William smooched his bride twice on the balcony.

8. The Unexpected Change

Two years after the wedding, the hot couple started a family with their first kid Prince George in 2013. People assumed the new parents would do PDA when photographers got a chance to take pictures of the family as a whole for the first time. But to their disappointment, they didn't kiss, hug or hold hands like they used to. Did it imply any difference in their marriage?

9. Work Like A Pro

The duke and duchess didn't show affection in the spotlight simply because they were at work and needed to remain professional. When they held their new-born baby and waved at the cameras, they were not only George's parents but also representatives of the British royal family. Prince William must have inherited the traditions from his grandparents.

10. A Former Example

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip carried out the code more strictly. They rarely showed their affection and have never even been seen touching by the general public. Sally Bedell-Smith, the author of Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, wrote, "In the manner of the upper class, neither of them were physically demonstrative."

11. Broken Rule

Modeling themselves on their grandparents, Kate and William gradually found their way: they left those loving and caring moments only in informal engagements. Yet in 2017, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan bucked the long-standing restraint for themselves, and they held hands whenever they wanted. The Duke of Sussex even kissed his wife during a charity polo match in July 2018. A relatively formal event, I suppose.

12. A Rare PDA

Harry's style possibly influenced his brother's handling of the relationship. In October 2018, Kate accompanied William to London's Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit after her maternity leave for the new-born Prince Louis. The duke was reported to have put his hands on the duchess's back and later on her leg, a rare PDA for the royal pair. 

13. Things Have Surely Changed

Several days later, their fans went crazy when the couple was photographed behaving more intimately. When they attended Princess Eugenie's wedding, Kate naturally placed her hand on William's thigh, and her husband also put his on the top of hers. So what had led to the sudden change in their relationship?

14. For Love Or Battle?

Body language interpreter Judi James took it as a delicate competition between the two famous couples. He believed that William and Kate had become unusually tactile to one-up Harry and Meghan. But for what?

15. Disagreement

Rumors say that Kate and Meghan haven't got on that well with each other. According to a source, the two duchesses bickered about Princess Charlotte's bridesmaid dress before Meghan's wedding. And Kate was said to have burst into tears.

16. Relocation

The suspected feud between the two couples seemed to become more serious when Harry and Meghan decided to move out of Kensington Palace to Windsor in November 2018. An anonymous source said the relocation was due to the rift between the two sisters-in-law.

17. Body Language Says More

We can never know how things are going behind closed doors, but we can make a reasonable assumption based on their body language. On Christmas Day, 2018, Kate held her clutch bag with her right hand, thus enabling Meghan to talk with her conveniently. Their gestures and smiles showed that they did or at least tried to get on with each other. So why did Kate and William make efforts to outdo the relatively new couple?

18. Hidden Truth

Though rumors said the two duchesses were at odds, another source told The Sun it was the two princes who had a rift. In April 2019, the two royal brothers appeared together with their father and environmentalist Sir David Attenborough. They didn't walk together after getting out of the same car, despite the fact that they usually had done that before. The change was pretty clear to the public.

19. Who's the Cupid?

Besides the royal rift, the couple might have increased their physical affection for another reason. Judy James, the body language interpreter we mentioned earlier, believed that the two's love signals were getting stronger and stronger and had even returned to the honeymoon stage after Prince Louis was born.

20. PDA As Parents

Royal parents don't usually show their love for their kids in front of the camera. However, William and Kate are an exception. They love to hold their kids' hands and play with them. At the 2017 Trooping the Color ceremony, the family was even pictured laughing happily together on the palace balcony. They were just like common parents at that time.