Kate Middleton & Prince William Fed Rocky Romance Rumors With An Awkward Coffee Mixup

It's no secret that the British royal family has a few marriages that ended badly, and even the lasting marriages aren't safe from speculations about their health. Catherine, Princess of Wales and William, Prince of Wales have been subjected to divorce rumors since 2019, and they've persisted even through hard events like Queen Elizabeth II's death and Catherine's cancer treatment. In the first three months of 2026, the Prince and Princess of Wales seemed to go on outings together to quash the divorce rumors.

While Catherine has occasionally poured gasoline on the divorce speculations, the couple's awkward moments are seen as proof that divorce is imminent by those who don't believe in their marriage. In March 2026, William and Catherine learned how to brew cappuccinos at a coffee shop in London. Catherine sweetly decided to give her husband his usual order, but William asked if the beverage was decaffeinated. After Catherine laughed and said no, William told her the drink looked "very well made," but didn't drink it and suggested selling it (via The Royal Family Channel).

Netizens on X soon speculated that the Waleses were no longer living together. Many people pointed out that it's strange Kate doesn't know about her husband preferring decaf, and others criticized William for not accepting the drink. "If Kate had made a coffee for him at home & didn't use Decaf & he refused it that'd be bad enough but he did this in public with Media," one user said. However, the prince has a different reason for refusing the cappuccino.

Prince Catherine and Prince William's interaction in the coffee shop certainly made the public question their romance, but the prince refused his wife's beverage because of his sensitivity to caffeine. In February 2026, William opened up about cutting back on caffeine for health reasons on the BBC's "Life Hack" podcast. "If I drink coffee, I get completely bananas," William said. "If I overdo the caffeine, I definitely feel it during the day."

The prince isn't the only one who changed his diet for the sake of his health. When the Waleses were out in London on the same day as their cafe adventure, they made a pit stop at a beer hall and pumped out some beer. Catherine declined the beer hall owner's offer to try some because of her cancer diagnosis in 2024. "Since my diagnosis I haven't had much alcohol," Catherine said. "It's something I have to be a lot more conscious of now," (via The Times).

Cutting out certain beverages from their diets gives Catherine and William something in common. The cappuccino mishap was definitely awkward, but it probably reinforced a sense of understanding between the royal couple.