A Body Language Expert Claims Kate Tapped William's Butt as a Flirty Reprimand for Not Holding Her Hand

Prince William and Kate Middleton showed up at the BAFTAs last night and apparently decided to it was the moment to lean into PDA. By which I mean Kate was seen tapping William's butt in a video captured by Vogue.

To be clear, this level of PDA is unicorn levels of rare for the royals, and body language expert Judi James says it also reveals a lot about William and Kate's relationship.

"Kate and William do look much less inhibited with their PDAs now they have moved up the royal pecking order," James tells The Sun."Last night’s bottom pat from Kate also showed where some of the power behind the scenes might lie."

Apparently Wills and Kate are also in a very flirty era of their relationship, with Judi saying that "The couple looked totally relaxed and openly excited to be doing full glam on the red carpet. They used more eye contact than usual and their touch rituals had increased to create a suggestion of flirting."

That said, Judi also claims that the butt tap was a non-verbal response from Kate due to William failing to hold her hand. "Kate’s pat was more than just a flirt signal," she explained. "The gesture began when she appeared to raise her right hand with the thumb apart from the fingers to signal a desire to hold hands. William didn’t respond though, leaning to chat instead, and so Kate’s small pat or tap on the bum looked part-sexy, part playful reprimand for missing her non-verbal cue."

Oh and "William is sporting a ‘cocked thumb’, a classic male body language signal suggesting intense pleasure," so read into that what you will.

Anyway, Judi also suggested that William and Kate's flirty vibes could be a physical response to some recent claims made by Prince Harry:

"William and Kate's tactile, playful behaviors could be an answer to Harry with his comments about coolness and royal men marrying women who 'fit into the mould,'" she said. "This seems to be Kate showing she should not be fitted into any mould, with her Hollywood-style glamour and her very cheeky gesture to her husband."

Lot to process here!

You Might Also Like

• Here’s What NOT to Wear to a Wedding

• Meet the Laziest, Easiest Acne Routine You’ll Ever Try