Kate Middleton Pours Gasoline On The Divorce Rumors With Her Most Telling Move Yet

Though they may have survived the scrapes and bruises of the past few years, William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, are fumbling their entry into 2026. After a viral video of Prince George of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales appeared to suggest that William and Kate Middleton might be living separate lives, the royal couple tried to save face. On January 8, Prince William and Kate surprised London's Charing Cross Hospital with an impromptu visit. However, their first outing of the year together didn't settle any rumors, mostly due to the fact that Kate was notably not wearing her wedding ring.

The Prince and Princess of Wales have surprised staff, patients and volunteers at London's Charring Cross Hospital to show their support for the NHS as it faces ongoing winter pressures.

The Prince said "the power of philanthropy in the NHS has probably been undervalued." pic.twitter.com/cP1HKdXmHI

— Cameron Walker (@CameronDLWalker) January 8, 2026

For a person with such a perfectly primed image, seeing Kate without such an important piece of jewelry seems telling. If anything, this feels as if Kate might be copying the hard-pressed wife of Vice President JD Vance, Usha Vance, in casually "forgetting" to put on her wedding ring. Plus, this move comes on the heels of Melania Trump and Donald Trump showing more PDA than the royal couple during their September U.K. visit. While it must be hard to present a united front when under such constant scrutiny, Kate and William seem to be barely tolerating each other during their last few appearances together — and people have started to notice.

No public appearance is actually spur of the moment for the royal family, especially for William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales. As much as their jaunt to show support for Britain's beleaguered NHS possibly startled those working at Charing Cross Hospital, the presence of cameras tips their hand a bit. Though the royal family has some nice things to say about Prince William and Kate Middleton, the online masses have been taking note of some seemingly strained behaviors between them.

One user on X nodded towards the social media firestorm that erupted when Prince George of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales were spotted hauling overnight bags to Kensington Palace earlier this month, which led to rumors that Will and Kate are living separately. "Yes after yesterday tweets about their possible separation good pr stunt," they wrote, in reference to how the whole hospital surprise certainly felt like a response to online rumors. Another sarcastically pointed out the stiff distance between the duo, writing, "Oooh so much chemistry between them both."

While William and Kate might be trying to show a united front, it seems they are not fooling those who want to see cracks in their foundation. Hopefully, on their next outing, Kate and William will remind us why they stay together.