The Most Juicy Royal Interactions Revealed By Lip Readers

Members of the royal family are notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to sharing details about their personal lives, but they can't remain totally mute when mingling during public events. They also must be well aware by now that anytime they crack their maws with cameras present, lip readers will be able to suss out some of what was said. These exchanges often offer illuminating insight into the royals' dynamics, although many of their interactions are rather mundane.

Some royal remarks can also make the kings, queens, princes, and princesses seem surprisingly relatable. Prince Louis' toothy grin stole the show at Trooping the Colour 2025, but lest her son get too carried away hamming it up and waving at the crowd, Catherine, Princess of Wales, engaged in some behavior many moms are all too familiar with: reminding him of what he was supposed to be doing. Speaking to the Mirror, lip reader Jeremy Freeman revealed what Catherine said to her son as his enthusiasm for the proceedings began to lag at a crucial moment: "National anthem. Louis, stand."

Thanks to the sharp eyes of professional lip reader Nicola Hickling, founder of Lipreader, we know what Prince William and Donald Trump's dynamic is like; she exclusively told The List that they had a warm exchange at the Notre Dame Cathedral. It's also through a lip reader that we learned there was a royal wardrobe malfunction at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle; apparently, William's pants were a bit too snug. And then there are the far juicer lip-reading revelations.

Because princes are a dying breed, they don't get married often, so who can blame the royal family for pulling out all the stops for their weddings? When Catherine, Princess of Wales, and William, Prince of Wales, tied the knot at Westminster Abbey in 2011, their guest list included almost 2,000 members of society's upper crust. However, far more admirers gathered outside Buckingham Palace in hopes of catching a glimpse of Catherine in her wedding dress and William in his uniform when the couple took their first carriage ride as husband and wife. They made the trip in the 1902 State Landau, the same open carriage Princess Diana and King Charles III climbed into after their 1981 wedding. It was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth II, but as lip reader Tina Lannin revealed to CBS News, it wasn't the monarch's top choice for her grandson's nuptials.

It seems Elizabeth couldn't wait to express her disapproval of the wheels. As soon as the queen was outside Westminster Abbey (and within eyeshot of any eager lip readers watching), Lannin said that she grumbled, "I wanted them to take the smaller carriage." Elizabeth's preference was possibly the Glass Coach, which is fully enclosed and would have made it more difficult for the crowd to see William and Catherine. It was reportedly their backup ride for if it rained, and it also made an appearance on Diana's wedding day when it transported her to the church.

Unfortunately, the queen didn't explain why she didn't want William and Catherine to enjoy a roomier ride. Perhaps she thought the covered carriage would afford them more privacy — and protect them from having their conversations deciphered by lip readers.

Apparently, Queen Elizabeth II had a lot of opinions about weddings. There was that rumored dust-up with Meghan Markle over the Duchess of Sussex's preferred wedding tiara, which the queen reportedly decreed off-limits. Elizabeth also had thoughts about Camilla, Queen Consort's choice of headwear for her 2005 civil wedding ceremony, but because Camilla was not borrowing any of the crown jewels, Elizabeth had no control over what her daughter-in-law-to-be decked out her dome with. However, she did offer Camilla some sage advice — which she did not heed.

Like a succulent pheasant, the feathers sprouting from Camilla's head got a good roasting outside Windsor Guildhall. A lip reader told the Daily Mail that Charles told his new bride, "They look awful," as she struggled to keep her plumage from taking flight on her happy (but blustery) day. He also joked, "You're only going to poke my eye." Instead of being angry with her husband for insulting her accessory choice on her wedding day, Camilla reportedly admitted that she had made a farcical mistake, saying, "If only they'd blow away ... It really wasn't a very good idea." Her Majesty also got to gloat a bit as she watched Camilla eat crow during the fiasco. "I did warn her, wearing feathers," she told her son.

It's hard to get hitched without a hitch when you're planning nuptials on a massive scale, and plenty did go wrong during Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's 2018 wedding. However, Meghan made sure that she got a kiss with her prince worthy of a Disney fairy tale. The magic moment happened underneath a gorgeous floral arch outside St. George Chapel, where the newlyweds paused in front of the roaring crowd. Professional lip reader Larry Wenig studied Meghan's lips before the lip lock and told Inside Edition what she said to Harry: "Okay, let's kiss."

Now, the Duchess of Sussex's most dedicated haters might view this kiss command as a red flag in Meghan and Harry's marriage, but not so fast; she's not the only royal who eschewed amorous spontaneity in favor of carefully orchestrated PDA. Tina Lannin told CBS News that Prince William similarly took charge as he and Princess Catherine stood on the Buckingham Palace balcony together after their wedding. He reportedly said to his wife, "Look at me, let's kiss, okay." Moments later, he instructed her to kiss him again.

However, when it comes to perfecting public displays of affection, this is one royal battle that William isn't winning because lips aren't the only body parts the Duchess of Sussex directs. Nicola Hickling told Express that Meghan had a simple demand for her husband when they were greeted by a crowd during their 2024 trip to Colombia: "Hand." Harry graciously handed the extremity over, saying to Meghan as he did so, "Here you go."

One of the most startling revelations in Prince Harry's memoir "Spare" is that Prince William tried to command him to shave off his facial hair before his wedding to Meghan Markle. In his 2023 ITV interview (via the Independent), Harry suggested that maybe William was a bit bitter about his baby bro's beard because the queen once told William that he couldn't have any hair on his chinny chin chin. But after their grandmother's death, the royal rebel let some salt-and-pepper scruff sprout on his mug. 

Nicola Hickling told The U.S. Sun that Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, asked Catherine if she was a fan of William's patchy facial hair during the 2024 Remembrance Sunday ceremony. Catherine reportedly responded, "I find it quite rousing," which was certainly a racy remark for such a somber occasion. Another lip reader, Kayleigh Harris, disagreed with Hickling's analysis, suggesting instead that Catherine had complained about the beard's somewhat scraggly appearance by saying that it was "never quite rounded." (Ouch!)

At least William can soothe his sore feelings with another lip reading. According to ITV (via the Daily Mail), Catherine praised his appearance during his 2006 passing-out parade by telling her seatmates, "I love the uniform — it's so, so sexy." Her compliments became more subdued later on, and Hickling revealed to The Sun that Catherine said to her daughter Princess Charlotte during the 2025 V.E. Day Parade, "Doesn't Papa look smart today." At the time, William was sporting a uniform and a beard.

One of the weird things about the royal family is that they reportedly aren't allowed to use certain words. According to Express, "toilet" is among those that Queen Elizabeth II found unsavory, so she was probably clutching her pearls with an iron grip when she caught wind of Meghan Markle's supposed potty mouth. As reported by the Daily Mail, Meghan appeared to exclaim, "Oh f***!" as she and Prince Harry rolled past the massive crowd that had gathered to witness their wedding day carriage ride. It was also possible that she uttered the more innocuous word "wow," but either way, it seemed she was suddenly overcome by the enormity of what she had just gotten herself into.

At least she didn't get accused of comparing someone to minced meat. When Prince William showed up at the Euro final to cheer for his fellow countrymen in 2024, he was spotted looking a bit agitated while speaking to an unidentified woman. It's unclear what they were talking about, but after reviewing the exchange for the Mirror, Nicola Hinkling shared this juicy tidbit about the spicy British insult he used: "When he sat down, he muttered under his breath the word 'sausage.'" Perhaps the prince was just hangry?

The United Kingdom's curmudgeonly king has a habit of ignoring the first commandment of his family's "never complain, never explain" motto. Royal life is often romanticized, but it's not all banquets and big weddings. And while there are no dragons to slay or evil sorceresses to outsmart à la Disney, King Charles III does have one rather formidable foe: tardiness. His 2023 coronation was supposed to be a joyful day, but he spent more of it stuck in a coach with Queen Camilla than he would have liked. A lip reader told Sky News Australia that he said to his wife at one point, "We can never be on time. Yes, I'm ... this is a negative. There's always something ... this is boring." Apparently, Catherine, Princess of Wales, and William, Prince of Wales, were running late, which delayed the start of the ceremony.

Charles lost his patience again while waiting for Camilla to put her coat on during a 2024 military parade. She was holding an umbrella, which made it difficult for her to get her arms through the sleeves, and it seemed Charles wasn't about to relinquish his own umbrella to finish the job. Instead, as lip reader Jacqui Press told the Daily Mail, he told an aide, "Come and help her!"

A royal aide was also likely on the receiving end of Charles' ire during a 2025 V.E. Day service. Jeremy Freeman told the Scottish Daily Express that the agitated monarch appeared to grumble, "Unbelievable, where are my introductions?" while greeting war veterans.

Like father, like son. Prince Harry has also been caught airing his grievances in public, and we're not talking about his Oprah interview or Netflix series. In March 2020, he and Meghan Markle attended the Commonwealth Day service during a trying time for the royal family. The couple had just announced that Sussexit was happening, so the atmosphere inside Westminster Abbey was probably a bit uncomfortable. However, Harry and Prince William's feud hadn't yet driven them to completely avoid each other. They even said their hellos, although Harry might not have been all that impressed with his brother's greeting.

According to a lip reader consulted by The Telegraph, Harry moaned to Meghan, "He literally said: 'Hello Harry,' and that was it, and he didn't say anything more than that." However, the expert made sure to note that they couldn't conclusively say that Harry was grumbling about his brother's behavior. Another lip reader told the Daily Star that Harry also scoffed, "At least they acknowledged, unlike last time."

Harry left fans wondering whether he was referencing members of his family again at his father's coronation when he reportedly kvetched to Jack Brooksbank, "I'm fed up with the way they treat me." Lip reader Jeremy Freeman told The U.S. Sun that Harry also said to Brooksbank, who is married to his cousin Princess Eugenie, "They don't care."

Prince Louis' show-stealing antics always help lighten the mood when the more rigid older royals are going through the motions during major public events. However, while we find his behavior entertaining, it might exasperate his family members somewhat. Louis was definitely trying his mother's patience during the 2022 Platinum Jubilee, where he entertained himself by making faces and sticking his fingers in his nose. Jeremy Freeman told the Daily Star that Princess Catherine told her son to stop, but the prince retorted, "I don't want to."

Poor Princess Charlotte tried her hand at being a sister mom to her defiant baby brother during Trooping the Colour 2024, and her luck wasn't any better. Nicola Hickling told the Mirror that Charlotte ordered Louis to quit dancing during the parade, to which he retorted, "I won't." Undeterred, Charlotte shot back, "Do as you're told," but her ungovernable sibling refused to let his adoring public go without entertainment, responding to her command with a casual "nope."

Louis was at it again in 2025 when he joined his family for the V.E. Day festivities. Per The Sun's lip-reading rundown of a conversation he had with his dad, Prince William got off to a poor start by remarking on the weather. "Look at this I think it's going to be quite wet today," he said to Louis, who proved that he was the king of snark with his feisty comeback: "Wasn't this supposed to be fun?"

Have you ever tried to compliment someone only for it to go terribly wrong? Based on the observations of Jeremy Freeman, it seems that this is what happened to Prince Harry during the 2022 Platinum Jubilee. Freeman told the Mirror that Harry said to Zara Tindall, "You lost some weight." Instead of the response he was likely expecting — Tindall thanking him for noticing — she replied, "No I haven't, how do you know?" Imagine the gears in Harry's head going into overdrive as he tried to think of an inoffensive way to answer that question. Unfortunately, he didn't read psychologist Rachel Needle's Psychology Today piece warning that it's a bad idea to remark on anyone's weight, even if well-intentioned. Needle points out that some people might find such attention to their appearances upsetting for a variety of reasons.

Instead of elaborating on exactly how Tindall's body looked different to him, Harry quickly tried to change the topic by remarking on what she was wearing. "I know, nice in pink! I didn't know whether you'd wear blue, pink, orange, green ... gray," he sputtered. Meghan Markle also schooled him on how to compliment someone without veering into risky territory when she simply told Tindall, "Well done, you look great." But according to Needle, it's even better to avoid the superficial completely and praise more valuable attributes such as confidence and happiness.

Queen Elizabeth II's 2022 funeral was one of the rare post-Sussexit occasions when Prince Harry and Prince William interacted in a civil manner. Jacqui Press told the Daily Mail that Harry asked his older brother if he and Meghan Markle should walk to their seats ahead of the Waleses. William answered in the affirmative and said to Princess Catherine, "Let them go through first."

While the brothers managed to keep the peace by barely speaking to one another, elsewhere, the youngest royals were expected to be on their best behavior while publicly mourning. Page Six observed that Princess Charlotte had another take-charge moment when she tried to help Prince George out with a gentle reminder: "You need to bow." While he seemed receptive to this instruction, he didn't remain on his best behavior all day. He apparently pinched Charlotte hard enough for her to audibly react, and Queen Camilla did not find his clowning around very amusing. However, when she commanded Princess Catherine to get her children's mischief managed, it was Charlotte to whom she directed her attention. Jeremy Freeman told the Mirror that Camilla said to Catherine, "Take her."

After Princess Catherine revealed that she was undergoing preventive chemotherapy in March 2024, royalists were relieved to see her looking hale and happy three months later at Trooping the Colour 2024. However, she and Prince William had a brief exchange on the Buckingham Palace balcony that tainted her triumphant return to the public eye just a tad. The couple could have used a sound chastising from Princess Charlotte because it seemed they couldn't wait until they were safely inside Buckingham Palace to start an argument.

Nicola Hickling exclusively analyzed the couple's exchange for The List and revealed what was likely said. She caught the end of the Waleses' tiff when William tucked his tail between his legs and told his wife, "Can you accept that? You win. ... Let me tell you I'm wrong." Catherine didn't seem interested in engaging with him further and apparently had second thoughts about what she was about to say, and she shut the convo down by telling her husband, "Never mind." All the while, she kept a smile plastered on her face.

In "The Making of a Modern Monarch," author Robert Jobson claims that William is quick to lose his temper, but it seems that Catherine helps him keep calm and carry on. "[T]hey know each other so well, it usually blows over quickly — and she is, on the whole, a major calming influence on him," he wrote (via Page Six). This may help explain their quickie quarrel on the balcony — or perhaps Catherine got quiet when she remembered that lip readers would be watching.