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The Prince and Princess of Wales have become the subjects of a new viral video as footage of the couple's repeated public displays of affection over the course of their marriage have featured in a clip compilation uploaded to TikTok.
William and Kate's relationship saw a revival of public interest in 2023, after their early dating history was dramatized in the final season of Netflix's The Crown.
The couple met in 2001 while studying at the University of St Andrews in Scotland on the art-history course and began dating soon after. Their engagement was announced in 2010 and they married at Westminster Abbey in London the following year. They have three children: Prince George, born 2013; Princess Charlotte, born 2015; and Prince Louis, born 2018.
On January 17, it was announced from Kensington Palace in London that Kate had been hospitalized for a "planned abdominal surgery" and would likely be absent from royal duties until Easter. Following this, a number of supportive social-media posts and videos dedicated to the princess went viral, with many focusing on her relationship with William, who canceled his public engagements while she recuperates.
Uploaded to TikTok by user @princessmiddleton_, on January 25, the latest of these videos has documented the couple's repeated gesture of affection, displayed at a number of public events over their years together.
Captioned "William and Catherine's love language," and "their fav pda," the clips show both royals intimately placing a hand on each other's backs as they chatted.
This reference to a "love language" is drawn from the 1992 relationship book authored by Gary Chapman, titled The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate.
In his book, Chapman presents the "languages", proposing that naturally adult humans have a primary affiliation with one or another. The languages he coined are described as "acts" and are: Acts of service, physical touch, gift-giving, quality time, and words of affirmation.
These languages have now become generally used terms when discussing relationships.
The video has received in excess of 206,000 views on the social-media site so far and almost 6,000 likes.
One piece of footage shows Kate dressed in red walking with William through the picture gallery of Buckingham Palace in November 2023, where both royals had joined the welcome ceremonies for President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea during his state visit.
Another shows the couple taking their seats for the second annual Earthshot Prize awards ceremony in 2022, which was held in Boston. As Kate took her seat in an elegant floor-length green gown, William was spotted placing his hand on her back and leaning in to speak to her.
The viral post has received a number of comments, many of which have praised the couple.
"Love them," wrote one user, with another praising Kate's style, adding: "She rocks the red soooo well."
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more