Prince William's cheeky flirting with Kate Middleton goes viral – watch

It's not often that the royal family displays affection in public. The ever-stoic royals tend to keep their physical proximity out of the public spotlight in order to remain professional at all times.

Apart from the occasional excited embrace at sporting events and the fairytale kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on their wedding day, the Prince and Princess of Wales remain relatively distant during official engagements.

However, a moment in which Prince William inadvertently revealed his flirtatious side resurfaced on social media and went viral on Instagram shortly after royal fan account @katemiddletonprincessofwales reshared an unearthed clip from October 2023.

The video was taken during William and Kate's visit to a Grange Pavilion in Cardiff. While they posed for a photo with elderly members of the community, The future king mused, “Who’s pinching my ass?” before winking and bursting into laughter.

A blushing Princess of Wales looked at her husband in shock before sharing his giggle, giving royal fans an unprecedented glimpse into the playful side of their relationship.

In the clip that came to light and was viewed thousands of times in a very short period of time, fans of the royal family quickly noticed the same thing about their interaction that they had previously missed.

“If you zoom in, you can see [Kate] questions [William] “Who stole it?” and at the end of the video he replies, “I don't know.” This made me laugh even harder! Other fans couldn't help but compare William's laugh to that of his father, King Charles II.

“The way he laughs, he's his father's doppelgänger!” commented one fan, noting the similarities between the royal father-son duo. “His facial expression is so similar to his father's!”

© Chris Jackson

Kate and William's rare declarations of love

© Getty

The couple's most famous “PDA” moment was arguably their intimate and excited embrace during the 2012 London Olympics, when the British team won a gold medal at the last minute.

© Pascal Le Segretain

Prince William wrapped his arms around his wife's waist and lifted her off the ground as she cheered.

Prince William and Kate's togetherness was discreetly displayed when the princess placed her hand on her husband's thigh during an official welcoming ceremony on the first day of their royal tour of Canada in 2016.

© Karwai Tang

In December 2017, the Prince and Princess of Wales arrived hand-in-hand for the traditional Christmas service at Sandringham. Kate was pregnant with Prince Louis at the time, so William no doubt wanted to keep a watchful eye on his wife.

© Chris Jackson