Prince William issued a protective three-word warning to Kate Middleton as they made a surprise appearance at the 2026 BAFTAs on Sunday night, according to a lip reader. The future king told his wife to 'watch your step' as they navigated the red carpet at the Royal Festival Hall, following a week of turmoil for the monarchy after the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
Lip reader Jeremy Freeman decoded the couple's whispered exchange, revealing that Kate first said 'look at the people!' before waving and greeting fans. William then cautioned her as they continued inside. The couple, who have distanced themselves from Andrew, appeared united in matching burgundy outfits—Kate in a custom Gucci lilac gown with a velvet belt, and William in a tuxedo.
Body language expert Judi James noted 'subtle signs of suppressed or masked tension,' including William's fiddling fingers and both displaying 'slight edge-to-edge clenching of the teeth.' However, she added that their appearance showed them 'at their A-list best, upstaging the Hollywood celebrities with their own display of dazzling glamour and elegance.'
During the ceremony, William admitted he is not in a 'calm state' after revealing he had avoided watching the emotional film Hamnet, which left Kate in 'floods of tears' the night before. Kate joked that watching it before the event was 'a bad idea' due to puffy eyes. The couple also discussed their children's growing interest in films, with Kate noting that Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis would love to tour behind the scenes of Harry Potter.
