Prince William had quite an unexpected reaction when a royal fan called his wife, Kate Middleton, “beautiful.”
On Thursday, 22 May, the Prince and Princess of Wales attended the official naming ceremony for the HMS Glasgow in Scotland. As the ship’s sponsor, Kate gave a brief speech and followed the christening tradition by smashing a bottle of whiskey against the ship’s hull.
The royal couple, married since 2011, were seen walking past a crowd of onlookers. At one point, someone shouted a compliment at Kate, praising her looks — and then quickly realized they should probably say something nice to Prince William too, who was right beside her.
A video circulating on social media captures a light-hearted moment between Prince William and Princess Kate. Someone off-camera is heard calling out to Kate, “You’re beautiful!”
They quickly followed up with, “You too, William!”
The royal couple shared a laugh, and William playfully responded, “You don’t have to say that. Don’t worry!” He then gently touched Kate’s arm as they walked away.
William and Kate first met as students at Scotland’s prestigious St Andrews University. They married in 2011 and later became parents to Prince George (2013), Princess Charlotte (2015), and Prince Louis (2018).
Even though she’s held her royal title for over ten years, many people still call the Princess by her maiden name, ‘Middleton’.
PR expert Megan Boyle told express.co.uk that this is likely tied to the “fairytale” nature of her romance with Prince William.
She said, “At the end of the day, we’ve always known her as Kate Middleton, and changing that is easier said than done.”
“Kate has been a familiar figure for so long that royal fans almost feel like they know her personally. Her love story with William — from dating to engagement to marrying a real-life prince — feels like something out of a fairytale, and that makes her even more relatable.”
Boyle added that it all comes back to why the name ‘Kate Middleton’ became so beloved to begin with — she’s seen as an ordinary woman, just like anyone else, who happened to become a princess.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have left Glasgow
Someone there to catch a glimpse shouts: “You’re beautiful!” to Kate – before adding “You too, William”
The royal couple were attending an official naming ceremony for HMS Glasgow at BAE Systems pic.twitter.com/GdzoXj9ccv
— Clyde 1 News (@Clyde1News) May 22, 2025
Boyle also pointed out that social media and SEO — which stands for search engine optimization, or improving how visible a website is in search results — play a major role.
“Of course, the internet plays a huge role in all this,” she added. “When it comes to SEO, the online world still recognizes her primarily as Kate Middleton. Most people continue to search for ‘kate middleton’ rather than ‘princess catherine,’ so media outlets aren’t likely to change how they refer to her and risk losing their ranking on Google.”
She went on to explain that as her titles have evolved — from Kate Middleton, to Duchess of Cambridge, to Princess of Wales, and one day Queen — many news outlets prefer to avoid SEO complications and stick with the name the public has long associated with her.