Prince William and Kate Middleton Showed Some Rare PDA at an Arcade This Week

• On Wednesday this week, Prince William and Kate Middleton stepped out for a royal engagement on Barry Island, where businesses were reopening for the first time since closing in response to the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year.
• During their visit, Will and Kate made a stop at an arcade, where Will tried his luck at a claw machine game. Photographers captured (from a distance, of course) a sweet moment when Kate put her hand on her husband's back—a rare moment of PDA from the Cambridges, who are usually careful not to show physical affection in public.
• The Cambridges shared the snap on their official Kensington Royal Instagram account.

Prince William and Kate Middleton (opens in new tab) have been getting back to some of their normal lives, which for senior working royals, means stepping out for public engagements. Not everything about the Cambridges' return to public life has been exactly like it was before the coronavirus pandemic hit, though. For one thing, the couple have been practicing social distancing and wearing face masks to set a good example for others. And then, this week, Will and Kate shared (opens in new tab) a very rare (but very sweet) moment of PDA at an engagement, which is a change we can all get behind.

The romantic moment went down on Wednesday, when Will and Kate visited Barry Island in honor of businesses in Wales beginning the process of reopening after closing in response to the coronavirus earlier this year. During a visit to an arcade on the island, Will and Kate played some games (opens in new tab) and, in the euphoria of the moment, Kate sweetly put a hand on her husband's back while he tried his luck at a claw machine game.

It's not against the rules for royals to show PDA (Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (opens in new tab) do so regularly, for example), but Will and Kate (opens in new tab) have historically been reserved about showing physical affection in public.

"It is rare to see royal couples holding hands on official outings," Royal etiquette expert Myka Meier (opens in new tab), founder and director of Beaumont Etiquette (opens in new tab), explained to People (opens in new tab). "While we are much less likely to see [Kate and Prince William] holding hands in public, we often see Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall holding hands—it’s all simply a matter of preference for each couple and is also likely dependent on the nature of the event they are attending. A more serious engagement would warrant a more serious level of professionalism, which each royal is sure to follow."

Will and Kate (opens in new tab) clearly felt fine about the intimate moment being captured on film and even shared the shot on the official Kensington Royal Instagram account.

"Thank you Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 for the lovely reception yesterday," the couple captioned the photo. "It was great to see communities and businesses starting to get back up and running, following a difficult few months for the tourism industry and the wider economy."