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Kate Middleton and Prince William attend the naming ceremony for HMS Glasgow in Scotstoun, Glasgow, Scotland on May 22, 2025.Credit :
Andy Barr – WPA Pool/Getty
Kate Middleton knew just what to say when she was once mistaken for Prince William’s assistant.
The Prince and Princess of Wales are a tight team and recently rang in their 14th wedding anniversary, but Princess Kate’s previous quip about how she supports her husband is making the rounds now. The interaction happened in August 2020 when Prince William, 42, and Princess Kate, 43, visited Shire Hall Care Home in Cardiff, Wales, and one resident said something blunt.
According to Hello! magazine, William and Kate reconnected there with Joan Drew-Smith. The royals previously played bingo with Drew-Smith, who then said, “You did a bloody s—– job” about their bingo calling skills when William brought it up.
The Prince and Princess of Wales (who were then known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) wore face masks at the nursing home amid the COVID pandemic, which William explained might hinder communication.
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“We have to wear masks because of the virus, but it’s difficult to hear sometimes when you can’t see someone’s mouth,” he said to Drew-Smith, who then pointed to Kate and asked him, “Is that your assistant?”
With a laugh, Kate said, “Well I am your assistant! I have been for a long time!”
Taking it in stride, Hello! reported that Prince William later told staff, “I love Joan, she’s brilliant. If only everyone was as honest as her.”
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Kate embraced a full-time working royal role after she married Prince William in April 2011 and introduced herself in an unexpected way while meeting school children in Scotland in 2023.
“Who am I? I’m married to William,” Princess Kate said in a video shared to X while mingling with students from Burghead Primary School in Moray in November 2023.
“She’s never trying to outshine him in any way,” royal biographer Penny Junor previously told PEOPLE about the dynamic William and Kate share. “I think that Kate is a bit like Prince Philip supporting the Queen. She doesn’t outshine William but still has a lot to say herself.”
Princess Kate’s reply highlighted her supportive role to William, who is heir to the British throne and expected to be king one day.
The Prince and Princess of Wales most recently stepped out together to attend the ship naming ceremony of the HMS Glasgow in Scotland on May 22, where Kate led the way as the warship’s sponsor. Kate channeled Princess Diana through style and pressed a button to release whisky against the ship’s hull during the naming ceremony, a special honor as the ship’s sponsor.
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Royal watchers won’t expect to see the Prince and Princess of Wales out and about this week, however, as their three children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, are on a half-term break from school. William and Kate are known to scale back their schedules when their kids are out of the classroom to all spend time together.
