Prince William has unexpected reaction after Kate Middleton gets called 'beautiful' by royal fan

Prince William had a pretty unexpected reaction after his wife, Kate Middleton, got called 'beautiful' by a royal fan.

Earlier this week on Thursday (22 May), the Prince and Princess of Wales attended the official ship naming of the HMS Glasgow in Scotland with Royal Navy ship's sponsor, Kate, issuing a short speech and breaking a bottle of whiskey against the ship's hull in a christening tradition.

The pair, who tied the knot back in 2011, could be seen walking past a crowd of spectators keen on catch a glimpse of the action with one shouting out to the mother-of-three a compliment before soon realising they ought to offer the same treatment to her hubby William who was walking right beside.

One video shared to social media shows one fan off-camera saying to Kate: "You're beautiful!"

They then quickly added: "You too, William!"

The royal couple laughed together before the heir to the throne light-heartedly replied: "You don't have to say that. Don't worry!"

He then placed his hand on Kate's arm before they headed off out of shot.

William and Kate met while they were both studying at the prestigious St Andrews University - which was also in Scotland.

After getting married in 2011, they soon welcomed their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis afterwards in 2013, 2015 and 2018 respectively.

But, despite having her royal title for more than a decade, people often still refer to the princess by her maiden name 'Middleton'.

PR expert Megan Boyle told express.co.uk that it's likely due to the 'fairytale aspect' of her relationship with Prince William.

She explained: "Ultimately, we've always known Kate Middleton as Kate Middleton, and sometimes it's hard to break the habit.

"She's been in our lives for so many years now, that fans of the Royals have this almost parasocial relationship with her. Part of the appeal of Kate and William's relationship is the fairytale aspect: dating, engagement, then marriage to an actual prince - almost as if something similar could happen to us.

"It stands as a reminder that the name won over so many people in the first place; she's just a normal person like you and me - who just so happens to be a princess."

On top of this, Boyle said that social media and SEO - the act of improving your website's visibility in search engine results - play a huge part.

"Of course, there's also the internet playing a big part here," she continued. "From an SEO perspective, the internet knew Kate Middleton as Kate Middleton first and foremost, and people still overwhelmingly search for 'kate middleton' as opposed to 'princess catherine' - so the media outlets are unlikely to risk losing their real estate on Google by changing how they refer to her.

"From Kate Middleton, to Duchess of Cambridge, to Princess of Wales to eventual Queen - many media outlets will just bypass the SEO headaches and stick to the name the British public have known and loved for years."