bitchy | People: Prince William ‘treats Kate like his bride,’ they’re ‘more loved-up than ever’

Whatever happened between Prince William and Kate in 2023-2024, they seem to have figured out some kind of agreement. They’ve seemed steadier, in a sense, this year. Meaning, there doesn’t seem to be the drama of William promoting himself as a sexy bald bachelor, nor are the Middletons constantly reminding William (via tabloid leaks) that he’s part of THEIR family. I’ve believed since April/May 2024 that a deal was struck between the Windsors and the Middletons and it’s been “smooth sailing” ever since. William and Kate do a couple of appearances together every few months, they have lots of “family vacations,” Kate gets a large manor house (Forest Lodge) and William gets to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, while still retaining his family-man image. It’s a “successful marriage” in both a modern and Victorian way. But that’s not good enough for the Keen fans. They can’t admit what’s right in front of them. They’ve been desperately trying to convince themselves for years that William & Kate are hot for each other and that this is still a love match. An excerpt from People’s cover story:

Those close to Kate Middleton and Prince William say they have emerged more connected than ever after a turbulent few years. After more than 20 years together, the Prince and Princess of Wales, both 43, have shown subtle but unmistakable shifts in their dynamic — gentle touches, shared smiles, hands resting at each other’s backs.

“He treats her like his bride,” royal historian Amanda Foreman tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “They seem more loved-up than ever.”

That renewed warmth was on full display on Nov. 19 at the Royal Variety Performance, where William lifted Kate’s hand for a kiss as they arrived and kept a protective hand at her back as they entered Royal Albert Hall. The glam night out marked their first red carpet in two years, a meaningful milestone following Kate’s chemotherapy treatment in 2024.

“What they have been through over the last few years has been so terrible,” Foreman says. “That either drives couples apart, or, in their case, it brings them together. It irons out the kinks and enables them to see each other clearly.”

It has been a defining year for the Princess and Princess of Wales after a difficult stretch for the royal family — from Queen Elizabeth’s death in 2022 to the turbulence that followed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell docuseries and Harry’s subsequent memoir, published in 2023.

Then came the upheavals of 2024. In February, King Charles revealed his cancer diagnosis just as Princess Kate was privately confronting her own, a reality she would not share publicly until March. By then, she had prepared her children and endured weeks of speculation and online conspiracy theories about her whereabouts and health.

“She didn’t just face a life-­ threatening illness — the global Internet went after her,” Foreman says. “It was a character assassination.”

[From People]

It feels like this kind of “Will and Kate are SO IN LOVE” rhetoric steadily increased when Prince Harry married Meghan, right? When faced with two people so demonstrably in love with each other, so tactile and sexy with each other, suddenly William and Kate were like “US TOO, we’re like that too!” Well, Kate was like that. William still refuses to play along for the most part, which is fine because so many royalists just blatantly lie, as seen above. It’s so funny to me that they cite “William putting his hand on Kate’s back” as evidence that “he treats her like his bride.” Most of the time, when William does that, he’s nudging her along and trying to get her to move. Whenever she tries to grab his ass or touch him, he either swats her away or moves out of reach. But he treats her like a bride, you guys!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.