The Prince and Princess of Wales joined King Charles and Queen Camilla for the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey
10:32, 11 Mar 2025Updated 10:32, 11 Mar 2025
(Image: PA)
An expert has claimed that a romantic gesture from the Princess of Wales left Prince William looking shy at one of the most significant events in the Royal calendar. Yesterday (Monday, March 10), William and Kate joined King Charles and Queen Camilla for the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, an event both the princess and the monarch missed last year due to their cancer diagnoses.
Kate looked stunning in a red Catherine Walker coat and a matching Gina Foster hat as she arrived at Westminster Abbey with William. The couple were seen chatting upon arrival and sharing a laugh as they took their seats before the service began.
Body language expert Judi James told the Mirror that this showed a ‘transition’ from their recent outings – but one moment revealed William’s ‘bashful crush’ on his wife. She explained: “William and Kate made the body language transition from ‘unison’ behaviours to mirrored, ‘free movement’ behaviours at this formal royal event.
“Since Kate’s illness, they have been extra tactile and totally connected during their public appearances, using every opportunity to use touches, glances or mimed hugs to move together coupled up like ice skaters or ballroom dancers.
“But here they performed the equivalent of ‘free’ movement, putting in their professional appearance in a more traditionally regal way but moving while apart in synchronised, mirrored unity as they did so.
The Prince and Princess of Wales at Westminster Abbey (Image: PA)
“What this showed was a more relaxed approach with no need to check or employ tie-signs. It appeared to signal they were both on strong, repaired form for this event, keeping their signals of utter fondness to a minimum while still keeping totally in sync.”
The couple walked in together, but at a slight distance, exuding renewed energy and positivity, reports the Mirror. Prince William beamed with pride as he gazed at Kate, but refrained from his usual guiding pats and touches, which can imply she needs support, the expert added.
She added: “When they did connect as they do here, sitting together, William’s body-scrunched pose and his very youthful smile with eye crinkling and a peek of the front teeth through his lips in response to Kate’s lean and playful smile suggests a bit of a bashful crush is still going on in their relationship.”
Before the service began and as the royals, including Princess Anne and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, gathered together, they all greeted each other and had a jovial chat.
Kate greeted Camilla, in a pink wool crepe and satin coat dress by Fiona Clare and pink beret hat by Philip Treacy, with a curtsy. William also greeted his father the King with a kiss on the cheek before they all sang the national anthem and proceeded to their seats.
Meanwhile, William kissed his father, the King, on the cheek. According to lip reader Jeremy Freeman, Charles said to his oldest son: “Good to see you.”
Charles, Camilla, William and Kate sing along to the hymns in the Abbey (Image: PA)
Princess Anne was also seen chatting with the King, who mentioned, “I didn’t hear a word” before the procession began.
In his Commonwealth Day message, the King emphasised that restoring the “disrupted harmony of our entire planet” is humanity’s most ‘important’ task. Ahead of commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the King also remembered the “sacrifice and selflessness” of Commonwealth forces who answered the call to fight with Britain and her allies.
Charles said in his written address included in a Commonwealth booklet given to the congregation: “More than one-and-a-half million men and women who served during the war came from across the Commonwealth to support the United Kingdom and its allies.
“On this special anniversary, we remember with particular pride and everlasting gratitude the untold sacrifice and selflessness of so many from around our family of nations who gave their lives in that dreadful conflict. This year’s Commonwealth Day theme was Together We Thrive, which celebrates the “enduring spirit of the Commonwealth family”.