ROYAL FAMILY NEWSPrince William Caught Using Subtle Secret Signal to Let Kate Middleton Know She Needs to 'Hurry Up' During Tour of German Exhibit
Prince William allegedly has a subtle signal to let his wife know they need to 'keep things moving.'
Dec. 5 2025, Published 2:14 p.m. ET
With eyes constantly on them, it's no wonder members of the royal family have some subtle signals to speak to each other when they know they're being filmed.
The aforementioned was put on display on Wednesday, December 3, when the Prince and Princess of Wales were filmed during a tour of a special German exhibit from the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.
Prince William was caught subtly rubbing Kate Middleton's back as she was speaking to someone off camera — a move that is said to be a gesture to tell his wife to wrap up her conversation.
Prince William appeared to tell his wife they needed to move on during a recent royal appearance.
Prince William gave Kate Middleton a little back rub, seemingly to let her know she should wrap up her conversation.
Hello! magazine shared footage of the sweet moment and noted: "The Prince of Wales never misses a beat on royal protocol… and when it's time to keep things moving, he's got the perfect move to hurry his wife along."
While William, 43, was at first engaged in the conversation with his wife, he appeared to get bored, and after about 30 seconds, he gave Kate, 43, a little back rub and thanked the person they were speaking to.
The mom-of-three seemingly understood the cue and swiftly followed her husband to engage with other people at the event.
Social Media Reactions to Prince William's Secret Signal to His Wife
A video of the subtle signal has racked up hundreds of comments so far.
The outlet's video post of the moment garnered hundreds of comments, with one person writing, "Not so secret, subtle because they have to go… My husband does this to me all the time."
Another wrote, "Such a sweet gesture! Doesn’t Camilla have a ‘signature move’ when King Charles needs to be moved along?"
The commenter was referring to speculation that Queen Camilla, 78, apparently tugs on Charles' jacket when she wants to leave a function.
A third person added, "i feel like that’s the secret love from every guy who wants out of a conversation. hand on the back and a 'thank you' is the universal sign for 'move it along.'"
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This Isn't the First Time Prince William Has Had to Tell Kate Middleton to Hurry Up
Prince William has had to hurry his wife up on other occasions.
A similar instance of Kate getting distracted and William telling her they need to move along was captured on their annual royal walkabout last Christmas.
An outlet reported that William resorted to calling one of the family's security guards to let Kate know she needed to stop chatting with fans as they had left her behind.
Kate Middleton didn't want to miss greeting everyone during a walkabout last Christmas.
Kate Middleton joked that she 'lost' her 'family' during last Christmas' annual royal walkabout.
In footage from the walkabout, she quipped to the crowd, "I think I've lost my family."
The security officer was then seen speaking on the phone to William, who was standing up the road with their three kids, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10 and Prince Louis, 7.
