The Prince and Princess of Wales shared a private romantic moment before their glamorous appearance at the Royal Albert Hall in London last night.
Just before they stepped into the spotlight at the 98th Royal Variety Performance, William, 43, appeared to air kiss his wife’s hand while they were still in their chauffeured car.
The sweet gesture – captured in a video from the glitzy occasion on Wednesday – sent fans swooning.
Once they had walked the red carpet, William reached over to put his hand on the small of Kate’s back as they entered the venue together.
The performance marked the sixth time William and Kate have attended the show together, and the princess’s first since her cancer recovery.
The Princess, who is continuing a slow and measured return to public life while in remission from cancer, was the picture of elegance in a green velvet evening gown, while William looked dapper in black tie.
In another poignant moment during the evening, Kate shared an emotional embrace with the singer Jessie J, as they bonded over their brave battles with cancer and how it ‘puts life into perspective’.
Fans gushed over the couple on social media, with one writing: ‘Oh my goodness, how can you not love this couple. These small gestures say more than PDA [public displays of affection].’
Another added: ‘They are so in love with each other. William has always been affectionate with Catherine but now he openly shows it.’
Others praised William’s ‘princely behaviour’ and called him the ultimate ‘gentleman’.
William and Kate’s outing marked a rare joint ‘black tie’ evening for them and comes after the Prince attended the Diplomatic Corps reception at Windsor Castle on Tuesday night on his own.
Last night however, the Princess was there alongside her husband, and wore a new emerald green velvet gown thought to be from German luxury fashion brand Talbot Runhof.
She dialed up the glamour with her jewellery and wore exquisite Greville chandelier earrings that were once a favourite of the late Queen Elizabeth II – crafted by Cartier.
On her right wrist, the Princess chose to wear the Queen Mary Choker Bracelet, which is a piece of jewellery that is reserved for only the most luminous royal engagements.
The diamond-laden piece was originally designed in the 1920s for Mary of Teck, the wife of King George V, and it can be worn as either a choker or a bracelet.
It disappeared into the royal vaults after Mary’s death in 1953 until almost 20 years later, when the Queen Mother wore it for portraits taken to mark her 75th birthday.
After the Queen Mother died in 2002, the bracelet was inherited by Queen Elizabeth II but it remained unworn – that is, until 2015, when it was loaned to Kate, then the Duchess of Cambridge, to wear at the Chinese State Banquet.
The Princess has worn it several times since, including the 2017 Gala Dinner held during her and William’s visit to Paris and in 2018, when she attended the Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace.
Kate and William’s time at the Royal Variety Performance saw the royal couple meeting with some of the performers backstage, including Jessie J and Paddington Bear, the star of the major new West End Show, Paddington The Musical.
William shook hands with Paddington – acted by Arti Shah with face and voice controls by James Hameed – and commented on how ‘yummy’ the bear’s signature marmalade sandwich looked.
Kate also remarked before the event that the couple’s three children would be sad not to have seen the beloved Paddington.
While chatting to a pair of nine-year-old twins, Emelie and Olivia Edwards, before the annual charity event, Kate said: ‘My kiddies will be very sad [to have missed the show], we are going to have to keep it a big secret.
‘They were very sad not to be joining us,’ she added while bringing a finger to her lips.
Meanwhile, estranged sister-in-law Meghan Markle released the trailer for her Netflix Christmas special just before the couple arrived at the event.
In one part of the trailer, the mother-of-two can be seen organising a plate of Christmas-themed cookies alongside milk in a personalised Santa mug with Archie and Lilibet’s names – after planting a kiss on Prince Harry’s lips.
Elsewhere, she’s spotted grinning while painting snowflake sweet treats and preparing crafted advent calendars for them with notes and special gifts.
Hours later the cover of the latest issue of Harper’s Bazaar dropped, featuring a makeup-free Meghan on the cover.
The accompanying feature is entitled ‘Meghan’s Moment’, with the strapline: ‘After years of being subsumed by other people’s narratives, the Duchess of Sussex is ready to author her own next chapter’.
Its writer reveals how Meghan puts her hand on her heart when she talks about her husband, Prince Harry.
‘No one in the world loves me more than him, so I know he’s always going to make sure that he has my back,’ the Duchess declares.
