Kate Middleton and Prince William were feeling the love as they returned to their royal wedding venue for a special gathering.
The Prince and Princess of Wales attended the Commonwealth Day service alongside other members of the royal family, including King Charles, Queen Camilla and Princess Anne, on Monday, March 9.
The annual service, which celebrates the British Commonwealth of Nations on the second Monday in March, is held at Westminster Abbey in London, where William and Kate tied the knot on April 29, 2011. Prince William, 43, and Princess Kate, 44, will celebrate their milestone 15th anniversary next month.
While standing and chatting with other attendees, the pair shared a brief moment of PDA. Kate wrapped her arm around her husband’s back, placing her hand on his navy blue suit jacket, which complemented her Catherine Walker coat and wide-brimmed hat.
Kate Middleton and Prince William attend the 2026 Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey on March 9, 2026
Credit: Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty
There are no official rules regarding how affectionate royal couples can act towards one another in public. However, Prince William and Princess Kate tend to stick to the example set by older generations of the monarchy, like the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, who generally refrained from overt public displays of affection.
The Prince and Princess of Wales will occasionally offer a supportive hand on the back, or, even rarer, a chivalrous air kiss on the hand, as William gave his wife ahead of the couple’s appearance at the Royal Variety Charity’s annual Royal Variety Performance last November.
“Senior members of the royal family would likely not be told how to interact or when they can or can not show PDA and would be trusted to use their better judgment as to when it’s appropriate,” Ladies of London star and royal etiquette expert Myka Meier, founder and director of Beaumont Etiquette, previously told PEOPLE. “The royals often adjust PDA to mirror the formality of the event they are attending.”
Prince William and Princess Kate have been more tactile with each other in public after she announced that she was receiving treatment for cancer in March 2024. (She announced in January 2025 that she is in remission.)
“They are happy for people to see them be touchy-feely,” royal expert and biographer Ingrid Seward previously told PEOPLE. “They’re in a different phase of their life now. William is very protective and very proud of her for coming through this and carrying on with her life.”
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Kate Middleton and Prince WIlliam on March 9, 2026
Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage
While the royals seemed jovial inside, tensions were higher outside the Abbey, where protestors heckled members of the royal family over the controversy regarding the former Prince Andrew. King Charles’ younger brother was arrested on Feb. 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public office regarding his communication with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“What did you know?” spelled out a row of bright yellow posters held by the protesters. Other signs included anti-monarchy messages and more references to Andrew, whose titles were stripped in the fall.
The former Duke of York has long denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. However, his recent arrest— the first of a royal since 1649, when King Charles I was beheaded for high treason — has further stoked public outcry about accountability and privilege within the royal family.
“If it comes out that people knew stuff — whether it be members of the family or police or staffers — then heads must roll,” Robert Jobson, author of The Windsor Legacy, tells PEOPLE.
A palace insider adds: “Other events have rocked the monarchy, but something from within — where someone is being arrested — is very different. This is much more serious.”
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