Prince William & Kate Middleton Are Reportedly Done With The Royal Family's Strictest Unwritten Rule

Thou shalt not indulge in public displays of affection. That's been an unofficial royal rule most senior members of The Firm have followed for decades, including the future king and queen. Until now, that is. Prince William and Kate Middleton's body language has changed quite a bit over the years, and now, so has their habit of rarely showing PDA. There's no official rule-book that strictly forbids royals from engaging in PDA while they're out in the wild, but it's been an unspoken rule for decades. William and Catherine initially followed suit, not even holding hands in pictures they took at the Taj Mahal in India in 2016. 

"The couple are likely to show very little PDA, if any, to remain professional during their designated roles abroad," royal etiquette expert Myka Meier explained to People at the time. By 2026, they had weathered Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's abrupt exit from the U.K., along with the heartbreaking death of Queen Elizabeth II, and Catherine's cancer diagnosis. Royal expert Hilary Fordwich confirmed to Fox News that these trials and tribulations brought the royal couple closer — and they're no longer as cautious about displaying their love as a result. 

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The Prince and Princess of Wales were photographed in a heartfelt embrace after Catherine completed the National Three Peaks Challenge in July 2026. William was also caught kissing his wife on the cheek at the DMMI Royal Charity Polo Cup later that very same month. "[It] shows a wonderful steadiness in their relationship," Fordwich pointed out. Royal broadcaster Helena Chard added, "Their experience seems to have brought them even closer. The warmth and ease we see publicly isn't about grand gestures, it's about two people who don't take a single day together for granted." 

During a 2025 interview with Eugene Levy, Prince William spoke candidly about his future plans for the monarchy. "I think it's safe to say that change is on my agenda — change for good," he told the "Schitt's Creek" star, per The Independent. That change, apparently, will include efforts to make the royal family more relatable to the country's youth. William and his wife Princess Catherine relaxing the PDA rule is likely part of this strategy. Letting go of The Firm's formerly stiff and professional approach during public duties will certainly help breach the divide. 

"I can only describe what I'm trying to do, and that's I'm trying to do it differently and I'm trying to do it for my generation," William reasoned to the BBC, during a 2024 chat about his vision for the future. "And to give you more an understanding around it, I'm doing it with maybe a smaller R in the royal, if you like, that's maybe a better way of saying it." He's walking the walk. While royals have been notoriously private about their personal lives and always embodied the stiff upper lip, the Prince of Wales was refreshingly open about many aspects of royal life. 

He even admitted how challenging Catherine and King Charles III's cancer diagnoses were. "[It has been] the hardest year of my life," William confessed. The future monarch's former private secretary, Lord Simon Case, informed The Telegraph in 2026 that he expects William to do away with the strict formality for which the royal family has always been known. As Case surmised, "There will be times when they're much more accessible and relaxed in public settings than probably his father — and certainly his grandmother — would ever have been."