These days, the Princess of Wales ( formerly known as Kate Middleton ) always looks incredibly confident and comfortable in public. But a few years ago, before she married the future king, she seemed to have some nerves when it came to being introduced to the world during her and Prince William ‘s engagement interview.
The couple’s love story began in 2001 when they met while studying at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. And while Kate’s name and face are familiar around the world, the majority of the public had never heard of her until her joint interview with William following the prince’s proposal in 2010.
Now, a video of the two just before the interview began has gone viral, showing what Kate did to “ease up” and what William told her to do to relax.
Video shows Kate getting things together before the interview begins
Prince William and Kate’s first joint interview since their engagement was announced was conducted on November 16, 2010, by journalist Tom Bradby. The couple discussed their first meeting, falling in love, going through a brief separation and their future together. But before it all got going, William tried to reassure his fiancée a little.
A short clip has gone viral showing Kate asking if she could move the cushion behind her out of the way, and the prince jokingly telling her: “Make yourself comfortable, we can stay here for a while.”
Another video posted on TikTok has subtitles instead of audio and reveals that the royal also tells Kate to “Breathe.” She replies, “I’m not very good at that,” and starts giggling. The 12-second clip has hundreds of thousands of views and more than 5,800 likes.
Some comments included fans posting that they were “absolutely adorable together” and calling the pair a “beautiful couple.”
Others wrote: “So cute! Rare to see moments like this” and “He still looks at her in such a mischievous way”.
Why William Wants His Bride-to-Be Comfortable During Her Interview
In the documentary William & Kate: In Their Own Words , Bradby spoke about how William wanted his bride-to-be to feel as comfortable as possible because he knew how uncomfortable his parents’ engagement interview was.
Footage of an interview between Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 shows that when the interviewer asked if they were in love, Diana replied “Of course”, before Charles interjected “Whatever ‘love’ means”.
The rest of the interview continued with the two still standing hand in hand, but there was no denying how nervous Diana looked after her future husband’s “in love” comment. Years later, in secret tape recordings she sent to biographer Andrew Morton, the princess admitted: “When Charles turned around and said, ‘Whatever love means,’ it completely stunned me. I thought, what a strange answer. God, I was really traumatized.”
For William and Kate, their interview was free of any embarrassing moments. And as Bradby notes, William was very mindful of “making sure the past is not a guide to the future.”
