Things That Just Weird Us Out About William and Kate’s Marriage 》

Prince William and Kate have plenty of pressure on their relationship. Much of that comes from their station: as the future King and Queen of England, the two always have the eyes of the world on them, and they’ve each had to step into new responsibilities since the death of Queen Elizabeth.

When faced with that pressure, you might expect the couple to lean on one another and generally use their relationship as a shield from stress. That’s certainly something that William’s brother Harry has learned to do with Meghan Markle amid their many controversies. Compared to those red-hot royal rebels, though, William and Kate often come across as downright cold.

There’s a reason for that: the marriage between these two is just downright weird. Don’t believe us? Keep reading to discover the biggest things that just weird us out about William and Kate’s marriage!

Their PDA is always DOA

While they are very different couples in many important ways, we can’t help but compare William and Kate’s marriage to Harry and Meghan’s marriage. However else you may feel about Harry and Meghan, it’s hard to deny that the two have plenty of affection for each other. After all, the two seem to engage in some serious public displays of affection whenever the cameras are rolling.

That’s not exactly the case with William and Kate, though. It’s extremely rare for these two to do so much as hold each other’s hands when they are in public, much less to hug or kiss one another. You might think this is a royal rule, but it’s not: as “royal etiquette expert” Myka Meier told People, “There is no actual etiquette or royal protocol that says the couple must refrain from PDA.” She speculated that William and Kate just want to look professional when they are working, but we can’t help but wonder about a marriage where something as basic as holding hands is a rare occasion.

Kate dealing with William’s tantrums behind the scenes?

Because Prince William is the future King of England, you might expect him to be…well…royally calm in his daily life. However, this isn’t the case. As reported by the New York Post, royal guru Tom Quinn claimed that the future king is “prone to tantrums” that devolve into fights where he and Kate Middleton “throw cushions at each other.” This is allegedly why William treats Kate “like a fourth child:” because the prince himself is much more childlike than anyone could imagine.

The marriage would be dysfunctional enough if both of them were angry and constantly going at each other like this. However, as Marie Claire reports, Quinn claimed that “Kate is very much the calm one. William is the one who’s a bit hotheaded…She’s the one who will pour oil on troubled waters and go.” Having to constantly put out fires started by her hothead husband? We wouldn’t want to be Kate!

William likes to ditch his wedding band

Obviously, there are certain practices that work out well for certain couples that would weird most other couples out. For William and Kate, one of those practices is simple: William just doesn’t like wearing his wedding band. It’s not the only jewelry he forgoes. As the royal biographer Penny Junor confided to Vogue, “He doesn’t like jewelry, and the Palace issued a statement before their wedding saying so.”

In other words, William doesn’t want anyone making a big deal about this. But considering that both his brother and father wear their wedding bands, think this is one more bit of evidence that these two have a truly strange marriage.

The couple is weirdly competitive

They say the couples who play together stay together. But what if the playing itself is a bit unhealthy? Depending on who you talk to, that may be an accurate description of the relationship between William and Kate.

For example, on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast, the hosts brought up the open secret that William and Kate are highly competitive. Kate didn’t deny this, saying that in games of table tennis, “I don’t think we’ve managed to finish a game of tennis, the two of us” because “It becomes a mental challenge between the two of us.” William agreed, saying that it comes down to a contest of which one of them can “out mental” the other.

Turning every simple game into a contest of indomitable wills? That doesn’t exactly sound like marital bliss to us!

They have mean-spirited nicknames for each other

On a long enough timeline, every couple develops nicknames for one another. Normally, these are sweet nicknames meant to illustrate how in love the couple is. As for William and Kate, their own go-to nicknames seem designed to make the other person feel bad!

For example, Marine Claire reports that Kate sometimes calls William “babe,” which is sweet enough, but she also calls him “baldy” (not quite as sweet). As for William, he sometimes calls Kate “babykins,” but he also refers to her as “The Duchess of Doolittle.” If that doesn’t sound mean-spirited in itself, keep in mind he is referencing the late, great Queen’s concern that Kate had no real job prospects before hooking up with William!