Awkward Kate Middleton & Prince William Moments Caught On Camera
Prim and proper, or totally awwwk-waaaaard? Prince William and Princess Catherine ooze royal highness energy — until they don't! Red carpet snubs to cringe-y family affairs, these sovereign slip-ups were caught on camera.
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00:00Prim and proper, or totally...awkward, Prince William and Princess Catherine
00:06ooze royal highness energy — until they don't. Red carpet snubs to cringey family affairs,
00:13these sovereign slip-ups were caught on camera.
00:17In July 2017, Prince William and Princess Catherine, who were then the Duke and Duchess
00:22of Cambridge, embarked on a five-day royal visit to Poland, bringing their kids Prince
00:28George and Princess Charlotte along for the ride. On their final day in the nation's capital,
00:33Warsaw, they attended a gala in honor of Queen Elizabeth II.
00:38"...Catherine and I are delighted to be embarking on our first visit to Poland."
00:42After the royals posed for photographers,
00:44a photo emerged in which they appeared to be visibly displeased — particularly Catherine.
00:51According to body language expert Judy James, a photo can sometimes capture a flash,
00:56in which a momentary facial expression, when taken out of context,
01:01can appear to indicate an emotion that may not necessarily be there. However,
01:06James says that's definitely not the case here, describing Catherine as being
01:10furious with her husband. She told The Express,
01:14"[Kate's unsmiling facial expression looked shocking, and it wasn't just a flash.]
01:19There are several photos of the occasion that show her looking unhappy or even throwing
01:24William some pointed looks while he tried to remain neutral with a faint, polite,
01:29close-lipped smile of what looked like regret or awkwardness."
01:35James also noted that Catherine appeared to be biting the inside of her cheek,
01:39an indication of repressing an emotional response to a possible argument at the time. She added,
01:45"[As she looked out towards the waiting guests, her arms looked rigid and her eye expression
01:50wary.] In 2019, William and Catherine were the guests of honor on A Berry Royal Christmas,
01:57a televised holiday special for BBC, featuring former The Great British Bake Off judge
02:02Mary Berry. But at one point in the festivities, the royals were seated next to each other,
02:07when William put his arm on Catherine's shoulder. Suddenly, she shifted her positioning so that her
02:13shoulder was just out of his reach, forcing him to quickly and discreetly pull his hand away.
02:20Then she quickly pivoted her entire body in the opposite direction,
02:24launching into a conversation with someone else on her other side."
02:27"'Hang on, who's judging this at the end of it? Just checking. Who's judging?'
02:32"'We'll wait and see.'"
02:34While the whole thing happened within a fraction of a second, it certainly did not go unnoticed
02:38by the news media, as well as social media. One viewer tweeted,
02:43"'The body language in this? I'd say she hates him.'"
02:46Another user posted,
02:48"'Uh, calling that awkward is an understatement. That was definitive deflection and rejection.
02:54I guess she's just not into him anymore.'"
02:56Someone else then posted,
02:58"'Awkward regardless of the reason. She had an instant reaction, and it was telling.'"
03:04Odd moments between William and Catherine occasionally result from inanimate objects.
03:09Such was the case when the couple toured New Zealand and Australia in 2014.
03:15According to the Royal Observer, one of their stops was the Air Force Museum of New Zealand
03:20in Christchurch, where they unveiled a new plaque which was waiting beneath a purple velvet curtain.
03:26While some TV news reports indicated that the unveiling ceremony went off without a hitch,
03:31the entire video revealed a far more fumbled reality.
03:35The plan was to open the curtain with fully functional cording,
03:39and when that didn't go off as planned, the couple appeared like deer in the headlights.
03:44Mercifully, a royal staffer jumped in and pushed the curtain aside with one hand. Problem solved.
03:51When William and Catherine attended the 2023 Annual Royal Variety Performance
03:56held at the famed Royal Albert Hall, they weren't the only monarchs in attendance.
04:01Other guests at the show included Nordic nobles,
04:04Crown Princess Victoria, and her husband, Prince Daniel of Sweden.
04:08Fun fact, Victoria is actually related to William. Her dad, King Carl XVI Gustav,
04:15and William's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, both called Queen Victoria their great-great-grandmother.
04:22But the awkward moment happened on the red carpet as the prince and princess of Wales
04:28were seen engaging in a conversation with dignitaries.
04:32As they chatted, their backs turned to the Swedish royals.
04:35Victoria and Daniel were seen milling around, uncertain of what to do, and fully snubbed.
04:42As one ex-user posted with a video of the moment,
04:45That's how you host foreign royals in your country,
04:48by standing aside with backs turned completely ignoring their presence.
04:52And of course, make sure you speak and go first, because you are more important.
04:57Poor Victoria didn't even know what to do, let alone her husband.
05:02God save the king!
05:03God save the king!
05:07The coronation of King Charles III took place in May 2023,
05:11and was a pomp-filled ceremony meticulously planned down to the second.
05:16William and Catherine, who were granted the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales when
05:20Charles assumed the monarchy, played key roles in the big weekend event.
05:25That was why it was such a big deal when the day finally came around
05:29and the royal couple were late to the party.
05:32As author Robert Hardman wrote in his book The Making of a King,
05:36King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy, the couple and their three children didn't
05:41show up at Westminster Abbey when scheduled. The author noted,
05:45The Waleses are supposed to be there eight minutes ahead of the king and queen,
05:49yet they will now arrive after them.
05:52Just arriving outside the Prince and Princess of Wales.
05:56While their late arrival may not have been apparent to everyone who watched the coronation,
06:00either in person or on TV, it was documented by the various photographers and camera crews.
06:07Robert Hardman claimed the whole schedule of events had to be reworked, writing,
06:12Although the congregation inside the abbey don't know it, there is an awkward scene unfolding
06:17outside as the king and queen are in their coach. It is an added layer of stress that the couple
06:23really do not want or need on a day like this.
06:27In September of 2023, William and Catherine visited the young students of Madley Primary
06:32School. The school is somewhat unique, in that children attend something called forest school
06:37classes once a week in the woods, where they're taught camping and survival skills. During their
06:43visit, the couple joined in on the students' lessons, with William sawing wood and stripping
06:49bark as Catherine inspected a crude shelter the kids built from various sticks and pieces of wood.
06:55That was until William broke a piece off the shelter.
06:59Still, many people who saw the video of the twig mishap thought it was endearing.
07:03One TikToker commented on a repost,
07:06Whoops, how he fixed it and felt bad but giggles at himself. He is so genuine and thoughtful."
07:11Another added,
07:12That's adorable. I bet he's not allowed near anything breakable in any of the royal households.
07:19Reports of a major rift between Prince William and Prince Harry,
07:23as well as their spouses Princess Catherine and Meghan Markle, have been abuzz for years.
07:28A big bone of contention came when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex
07:32famously broke from the royals, announcing they'd be stepping back.
07:36But the alleged royal family feud was on public display
07:39when the couples attended a Commonwealth Day service in 2020,
07:43with all four of them appearing grim and unhappy to be in each other's orbits.
07:48As Access Hollywood noted,
07:50One particularly awkward moment came when Harry and Meghan were seated
07:54but didn't rise to greet William and Catherine when they arrived, other than their quick hello.
08:00Harry later addressed the instance in an episode of the Netflix docuseries
08:05Harry and Meghan, confirming that it was as awkward as it looked.
08:10All the TV cameras and everybody watching at home and everybody watching the audience,
08:12like, it's like living through a soap opera."
08:15Explaining that he and Meghan had been incredibly nervous to reunite with their family,
08:20and that the entire experience felt just as icy as it looked on TV, Harry revealed,
08:26It felt really distant from the rest of my family, which was interesting because
08:29so much of how they operate is about what it looks like rather than what it feels like."
08:35Back in 2013, Catherine was still something of a royal rookie when she accompanied William
08:40on a St. Patrick's Day meet-and-greet with the 1st Battalion Irish Guards.
08:44While walking alongside William, she experienced an awkward incident when she abruptly brought
08:50their procession to a halt when the heel of her shoe became caught in a metal grate.
08:55Catherine, who was pregnant with Prince George at the time, was assisted by William,
08:59who offered his hand for support while she crouched down and freed her heel.
09:04But Catherine seemed nonplussed by the unexpected diversion,
09:07shrugging off the embarrassing moment and continuing on with the rest of the outing as planned.
09:13Attending Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's wedding brought about an
09:17awkward moment for Catherine as she accompanied William to the nuptials.
09:21As it happened, the wedding took place on a particularly windy day,
09:25which caught a gust of wind to lift Catherine's dress well above her knees.
09:30A photographer captured the moment in a shot that was reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe
09:35holding down her dress over a subway grate in the film The Seven-Year Itch.
09:40While the incident could have proven embarrassing, Catherine brushed it off.
09:44She simply giggled about it while also likely breathing a sigh of relief
09:48that she'd managed to prevent her dress from blowing up any higher than it did.