Strange Things About Kate Middleton & Prince William's Marriage We Just Can't Ignore

While Prince William and Catherine Princess of Wales have been married since April 29, 2011, there are some unusual things about their relationship. Typically, they present as a solid front; they both seem warm and friendly with each other when they're at events, and they seem like really devoted parents to their three children, George, Charlotte, and Louis. In spite of this happy persona as a thriving family, there have been some unusual things that have cropped up during their early relationship and into their marriage.

There have been rumors of an alleged affair on William's part, as well as stories of his bad temper. Even back when they were dating, there were some unusual things, like the fact that William once broke up with Catherine over the phone. It's also incredibly rare to catch them engaging in any kind of PDA. But the royal couple isn't alone in having strange issues arise between them. There are myriad celebrity relationships that have red flags, and there's actually a lot that can be learned from them. For example, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also have red flags in their relationship, so it's by no means singular to William and Catherine. Nevertheless, Catherine and William's marriage is marked by some unfortunate moments and patterns of behavior that seem a little concerning.

In 2019, rumors broke that Prince William was having an affair with Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, while Catherine, Princess of Wales, was pregnant with their third child, Prince Louis. It all started with a report from The Sun in March 2019 that Catherine and Rose had severed their friendship following a big fight. But things spiralled out of control after that. British journalists and columnists jumped on X, speaking about a rumored affair and that this was the real reason for animosity between Catherine and Rose. For instance, columnist Giles Coren tweeted: "Yes, it is an affair. I haven't read the piece but I know about the affair. Everyone knows about the affair, darling," (via the Daily Beast). Many of these individuals quickly deleted their tweets after they went viral, but not without considerable damage already being done.

Then in April 2019, the Daily Beast reported that William and the palace were getting lawyers involved to deal with what they claimed were false accusations and slander. While that quieted the tabloids somewhat, talk of the affair has never fully died down. In June 2019, Us Weekly reported that Catherine and William were recovering from the rumors and focusing on their relationship. In spite of everything, their relationship has been plagued by these rumors ever since.

One ongoing issue in Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales' relationship is that William allegedly has a very bad temper, and that Catherine has to manage it, though not without getting into the odd fight with him. Author Robert Jobson, in his book "William at 40: The Making of a Modern Monarch" explained that the prince can be prone to outbursts and can even shout during arguments, via the New York Post. Jobson also added that William is prone to mood swings, a feature that Princess Diana also suffered from, and this can make it challenging for those around him. 

While Catherine has to deal with William's bad temper, it's important to note, though, that she is no lightweight during their arguments; Catherine can also dish it out, so the two are well-matched in terms of fights, which every couple has from time to time. However, Catherine tends to try to be the peace keeper, and their fights are never that bad. "But they know each other so well, it usually blows over quickly — and she is, on the whole, a major calming influence on him," Jobson reported. So while William can flare up in anger, Catherine is generally able to calm the turbulent waters, but it doesn't seem completely fair that this is part of her job. 

Another unusual feature about the relationship between Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, is that the prince never wears a wedding ring. Catherine, on the other hand, always wears hers. And it's no wonder, since Catherine has one of the most gorgeous rings among all of the royal women's engagement rings. Catherine's sapphire ring comes with sentimental attachment, as it belonged to the late Princess Diana following her engagement to the then-Prince Charles. On top of this, Catherine's wedding band is also historically significant; it's made of Welsh gold, from a supply that came from the royal family and was used to create other wedding bands for previous royal brides. 

While royal women have storied traditions around their wedding bands, royal men don't always wear wedding bands, and William is included in this number. "Although it's traditional for royal women to wear both an engagement ring and a wedding ring after they get married, it's never been traditional for royal men to wear one," royal commentator Eloise Parker told MarieClaire.com. The late Prince Philip, William's grandfather, also opted out of wearing a wedding band. However, royal men do break with this tradition. Prince Harry wears a traditional wedding band and King Charles wears one, but he wears his on his pinky finger with his signet ring. So William certainly has the option of doing so, and it seems a little less romantic that he chooses not to.

There's no denying that Catherine, Princess of Wales, had a crummy start to 2024. She had abdominal surgery in January, and following her convalescence, no one saw her again. Unbeknownst to the population, she was battling cancer and stepped away from the public eye. But her absence was well noted on social media and people got into a frenzy about her whereabouts and well-being. The hashtag #kategate exploded online, with people concocting all kinds of conspiracy theories. Sure enough, the rumors around Prince William's affair surfaced considerably during this time. On March 20, 2024, Mother's Day in the U.K., Buckingham Palace released a photo of her and her children that was digitally altered, feeding the conspiracy theories even more. Catherine apologized alone. William made no statement. "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," she began on X. "I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused."

Then on March 22, 2024, Catherine released a video announcing that she had cancer. "This, of course, came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family," she said. While Catherine referenced William, he didn't seem to be a part of her crisis at all. She sat alone on the bench for her announcement and was alone in dealing with the Mother's Day photo scandal.

Even before they got married, Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, had a rocky courtship. They met as students at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and continued to date after their graduation. Things were going smoothly enough, but in January 2007, William called Catherine and broke up with her. William claimed that he needed space and that they should each go their own way. Biographer Robert Jobson described the interaction in his book "Catherine, The Princess of Wales," and how it left the young woman bereft and confused. "In an emotionally charged 30-minute conversation, they both acknowledged they were on 'different pages,'" Jobson wrote, per People. "It was a devastating blow to Catherine, who felt doubly let down at being dumped over the phone."

But Catherine didn't let it stop her. After taking some time away from the spotlight, she started going out with her sister, Pippa Middleton, and the two would get photographed having fun. The images made their way into the papers, and no doubt William saw this. They got back together, but it can't have felt very good for Catherine to be broken up with like that over the phone. On top of that, their courtship took a really long time. They started dating in 2002 and didn't get married until 2011, with William taking an awfully long time to propose.

While interdependence in a relationship can be a very healthy thing, too much independence can lead to trouble. On top of that, there are royal duties that must be upheld and a big part of royal life is that members of the family show up for special days. Prince William did none of those things in 2017. The Westminster Abbey Commonwealth Day celebration is a big deal for the royal family as an interfaith celebration, but William and Catherine did not attend in 2017. As it turned out later, they were absent because William decided to have bro time on a ski trip to Verbier, Switzerland, with Catherine notably not a part of the ski party. While William tried to be discrete on the trip, he got busted thanks to several photographs. In fact, people even took videos of William dancing in a club during the trip.

To make matters even more uncomfortable, it turns out it wasn't just a boys' trip. Australian model Sophie Taylor also turned up, and paparazzi snapped some photos of her and William, along with others, laughing outside a ski lodge. All in all, it didn't look good for William. He ditched royal duties for the trip, making him look lazy about adhering to his responsibilities. Plus, it can't have been a great for Catherine to see photos of her husband laughing alongside another woman while he was supposed to be there with his pals.  

Public displays of affection are by no means the sole indicator of a happy relationship. Some people express love in other ways besides kissing in public, holding hands, and touching. However, it's safe to say that some degree of physical contact is expected from a romantic partnership, but with Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, we rarely see them indulging in PDA. To be fair, part of this is royal protocol. Body language expert Darren Stanton told The Sun that they follow the guidelines of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who never showed physical affection in public with her husband, Prince Philip. "When we see William and Kate, they more than often won't be holding hands in public settings, and it's all to do with protocol," Stanton explained. Since they're next in line for the throne, they're much more likely to adhere to these standards than say, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are. It helps William and Catherine remain professional at events.

We do see the odd moment here and there where William and Catherine touch each other. They're known to give the other little pats on the back, but not much else. However, there was that rare moment at the BAFTAs in 2023 when Catherine smacked William playfully on his behind. But the fact that this one moment lives on forever in our memories shows how little they touch each other in public.