If Kate Middleton and Prince William holding hands is classed as PDA and is against royal protocol, them kissing in public most *definitely* is! But we have no idea what the Princess of Wales kissing a man who isn’t her husband is classed as!
As we know, the Princess of Wales, 41, is quite prone to briefly breaking with royal tradition and engaging in some PDA with her husband. Remember her playfully patting him at King Charles’ coronation in Scotland earlier this month? Well, it turns out that her PDA doesn’t just relate to her husband, as she previously kissed tennis champ Roger Federer three times. And we *still* can’t get over it!
Hugs, kisses and handshakes from royalty and the family for the #Wimbledon champion… pic.twitter.com/wxpTxn8w6i
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 16, 2017
Kate Middleton Kissed Roger Federer Three Times In 2017
The Duchess of Cambridge is a huge tennis fan, and she and the 41-year-old Swiss tennis champ are apparently good friends. Not only is the now retired tennis player friendly with Kate’s younger sister Pippa Middleton, but he reportedly also taught her eldest son Prince George how to play tennis. Aww!
The Princess of Wales and the eight-time Wimbledon winner have even worked on several projects together over the years, with one of the most recent being a four-minute video to highlight the work of the ball boys and ball girls at Wimbledon. However, the incident that has lived rent free in our minds for six years occurred when Kate kissed the tennis pro, who officially retired last year, three times on the cheek back in 2017 to congratulate him for winning Wimbledon for the eighth time. Three kisses on the cheek is customary in Switzerland, so perhaps the number of kisses was down to Kate wanting to do things properly.
Kate Middleton Doesn’t Accept Roger Federer’s Cheek Kiss In 2023
Although they may have friendly pecks on the cheek in private – and of course that unforgettable moment in 2017 – it was a different story during Wimbledon this year. When Federer arrived at the Royal Box to watch Elena Rybakina and Shelby Rogers play, he received a standing ovation from everyone including the Duchess of Cambridge herself, who enthusiastically applauded. As the six-time Australian Open champ went to take his seat, he gave his wife Mirka a kiss on the cheek and then headed towards the mom-of-three. As some pubs have pointed out, if you watch very closely in the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, he appeared to start to lean in for a kiss on her cheek, but stopped very quickly as Kate simply nodded her head, which indicated that she didn’t want him to kiss her on the cheek.
FYI, kisses on the cheek are frowned upon when it comes to the royals, with handshakes being the accepted greeting. However, even handshakes have their own set of rules, as they are only acceptable if the royal extends their hand for the handshake first. Yikes! We don’t think Federer took it personally, though.
