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A brief encounter between Prince William and Kate Middleton during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 has gone viral after resurfacing on TikTok.
Elizabeth celebrated her Platinum Jubilee marking seven decades on the throne in June 2022, with a series of events in Britain attended by members of the extended royal family. It was the last large-scale event of her reign before the monarch died at the age of 96, just three months later.
The ceremonial central point of the weekend of celebratory events was the national service of thanksgiving, held at St Paul's Cathedral on June 3, 2022. As the queen was unable to attend due to "episodic mobility problems," the then-Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall represented her while supported by William and Kate.
In the edited viral video, uploaded to TikTok by user @katewtps, Kate is shown sitting among the congregation at the thanksgiving service looking solemn, maybe even a little blue. Text on the screen reads: "Kate doesn't seem happy at an event."
A subsequent clip shows William turning to Kate and saying something to her, which the TikToker interpreted as the prince being "worried" about his wife. Text on the screen reads: "William comforts her."
The video has been viewed over 380,000 times so far since being posted on July 10, receiving over 10,000 likes and 200 comments, many of which have praised the couple.
"He adores her, they are best friends," wrote one TikTok user.
"Awww William making sure Catherine ok bless," another person said, with a further comment reading: "So cute."
@katewtps he seemed so worried abt how kate felt, it’s so cute. i love them <3 | I'm sry, I wasn't very active this weekend. I didn't rly have the motivation to edit bt I promise I'll come back tmr!! #princessofwales #catherineelizabethmiddleton #katemiddleton #princeandprincessofwales #walesfamily #catherinemiddleton #kateprincessofwales #williamprinceofwales #williamarthurphiliplouis ♬ son original - ????? ?????? ❀
This is not the first time fans claim to have spotted a gesture of comfort exchanged between the pair. In March, a video resurfaced on TikTok of the royal couple from their 2022 royal tour of the Caribbean.
The tour, which was planned to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee in three of the Commonwealth realms of which Queen Elizabeth was monarch, faced a number of obstacles including protests at each stop in Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas.
Fans subsequently shared footage of an exchange between William and Kate in Jamaica, where the now-princess appeared to check on her husband during a military academy parade, asking if he was "OK."
In April 2023, the royal couple celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary and over the past 12 months have seen their royal roles transform since the death of Queen Elizabeth.
As the new king, Charles III made William the Prince of Wales, the most senior title available outside of those assumed by the king himself. As such, Kate became the Princess of Wales, the first royal to use the title publicly since the death of William's mother, Princess Diana in 1997.
William is now first in line to the throne and the head of the Duchy of Cornwall, an estimated $1 billion property portfolio, the rents from which fund the Wales family's official work.
Today, William, Kate and their three children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis—have their home base at Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor Castle estate in England.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on 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