Prince William and Kate Middleton’s marriage is under fresh scrutiny after fans noticed a striking difference in how they express affection for each other, with some claiming “she hates him.”
Long before they became the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate were students at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where a friendship eventually developed into a romance after they became roommates during their second year.
William proposed in 2010 and the couple married the following year, building a family with Prince George, 13, Princess Charlotte, 11 and 8-year-old Prince Louis while taking on increasingly prominent roles within the royal family.
Do ‘everything in tandem’
More than two decades after they first met, royal author Russell Myers believes the strength of that relationship comes from the way they navigate those responsibilities together.
“The secret to the Prince and Princess of Wales’ marriage is support for one another throughout their roles as working royals and as parents to their three young children,” Myers told the Mirror on Aug. 11, 2026.
The author of “William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story” said the pair do “everything” in “tandem,” while describing Kate as deeply invested not only in her own position, but in what lies ahead for the royal family.
“What many people aren’t aware of is how invested Catherine has always been, not only in her role and the effect she can have as the Princess of Wales and as a future queen, but also in the monarchy’s future direction,” Myers told the outlet.
Yet while Myers was describing a couple working closely together behind palace walls, people online were busy scrutinizing how William and Kate speak about one another in public.
And all it took was two birthday posts placed side by side.
‘Happy birthday Papa’
The comparison circulated on X after a user put Kate’s June 2024 birthday message to William alongside the tribute he shared for her the following January.
For William’s 42nd birthday, Kate chose a playful photograph showing her husband leaping into the air on a beach with George, Charlotte and Louis.
Her message was brief.
“Happy birthday Papa, we all love you so much! Cx,” she wrote.
Beside it was William’s January 2025 tribute to Kate, shared after an extraordinarily difficult year in which the princess underwent cancer treatment.
His message carried a noticeably different tone.
“To the most incredible wife and mother,” William wrote. “The strength you’ve shown over the last year has been remarkable. George, Charlotte, Louis and I are so proud of you.”
“Happy Birthday, Catherine. We love you. W.”
‘She hates him’
With the two posts suddenly being judged against each other, some people decided the difference in length and language revealed something about the marriage itself.
“Clearly one of them doesn’t value the other a lot,” one person claimed.
Another went considerably further, writing: “The man is clearly being told that he doesn’t matter very much and can go to hell.”
“Yea she hates him. She only sees him as a wallet or dad, not as a husband,” another claimed. “I’m so tired of seeing men participate in the marriage humiliation ritual.”
‘Beautiful’
Not everyone saw a marital crisis hiding between the lines of a birthday caption.
Some argued that the posts simply reflected two different ways of expressing affection, with one person saying William and Kate were “both showing their love in their own special way.”
“She captures the fun; he captures the strength. Beautiful,” another wrote.
Someone else jokingly summed up the contrast as: “Golden retriever energy vs. high-fashion editorial. Perfect balance!”
There was also a more practical explanation raised repeatedly: these are official royal social media accounts rather than ordinary personal profiles.
“Are we forgetting they don’t manage their accounts?” one person asked.
“I doubt either one of them took either photo or uploaded them,” another wrote, while someone else questioned: “Do people really think royals manage their own social media pages?”
William and Kate have a communications team at Kensington Palace, meaning their official digital presence can involve staff planning and publishing content on their behalf.
Dabbles in photo editing
That doesn’t mean Kate has no personal involvement, however.
After major photo agencies withdrew a Mother’s Day image of Kate and her children in 2024 over concerns it had been digitally altered, the princess personally took responsibility for editing it.
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she said at the time, per Good Morning America.
“I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused,” Kate continued. “I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.”
Her admission established that she had personally worked on that particular photograph, but it doesn’t tell us who wrote or published the birthday messages now being analyzed online.
What do you think about the photo comparisons? Please let us know your thoughts and then share this story so we can hear from others!
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