Ah, young love. The texting, the giggling, the constant worrying over outfit selections, we’ve all been there, and—as we often forget— so too have the royals. Kate Middleton and Prince William are the picture of poise these days, and Kate is lauded for her professionalism and class worldwide. The pair are busy parenting their three children— George, Charlotte and Louis— and making public appearances, but once upon a time they were just two fresh-faced 24-year-olds in love.
Now, in a recently resurfaced clip of one of their very first public appearances, Kate is caught whispering a comment that some may think is unbecoming of a future queen.
The year was 2006, and Kate, who was about to turn 25, had been invited to Prince William’s passing-out parade at Sandhurst. The passing-out parade is essentially an official graduation ceremony for officer cadets who have formally completed their training. William, who had recently finished the 44-week long Commissioning Course, invited his then-girlfriend along to watch.
At the ceremony, Kate was seated next to her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, and William's school friends, James Meade and Thomas van Straubenzee, who were on the receiving end of her cheeky comment. A lip reader has confirmed that she turned to them and said, 'I love the uniform— it's so, so sexy.'
At the time, Kate was a recent graduate herself, having left the University of St Andrews the previous year with a 2:1 in art history. St Andrews is also where she met her future husband in 2001, and if you’ve seen The Crown— or William & Kate, the 2011 movie starring future Grey’s Anatomy resident Camilla Luddington— then you already know all about that.
Well, Kate definitely made a memorable impression at her first official appearance with the royal family! Despite breaking up for a brief period the following year, Kate and Will tied the knot in 2011, and the rest is quite literally history.