Kate Middleton Steals a Glance at Prince William, Echoing Queen Elizabeth’s Iconic Trooping Moment

Kate Middleton stole a sweet glance at Prince William in uniform at Trooping the Colour, in a moment that called back to another royal couple.

On June 14, the Prince and Princess of Wales stepped out to attend King Charles’ official birthday parade organized by the British Army in the heart of London, and brought along their three kids, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7.

Cameras caught a sweet moment where Princess Kate, 43, gave her husband a look of love as he rode on horseback in the procession at Horse Guards Parade.

Prince William, 42, saddled up on Saturday to ride in the parade as Colonel-in-Chief of the Welsh Guards, while Princess Kate had a spot of honor on the dais with King Charles and Queen Camilla. The Princess of Wales was in a prominent position as Colonel of the Irish Guards, another Household Division regiment involved in the pageantry.

One fan account likened the moment to a throwback photo of Queen Elizabeth giving Prince Philip a similar tender look of affection at a past outing. In that image, the iconic monarch beams at her husband as they travel together by carriage for Trooping the Colour in 2009. 

Like William, Prince Philip wore a scarlet red military uniform tunic with bearskin hat. The comparison was made full-circle by the fact that Queen Elizabeth and Princess Kate both wore aqua blue outfits and hats in the side-by-side snap.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were married for 73 years before his death at age 99 in April 2021. After the Queen died, she was buried with him in the King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Prince William and Princess Kate are known to be a tight team, and they reunited on the Buckingham Palace balcony following the equestrian procession. Hundreds of soldiers, musicians and horses came together on Saturday to commemorate the third Trooping the Colour of King Charles’ reign in what continued tradition as a royal family reunion.

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The Princess of Wales is reportedly inspired by how Prince Philip supported Queen Elizabeth in her own approach to backing Prince William’s royal role. Princess Kate follows William’s lead, while also pursuing her own interests and responsibilities. 

“In one sense, hers and William’s was a modern royal marriage, in that it was a love match. But in another, it has been old-fashioned. She mostly appears as a supportive figure to her husband,” Sarah Gristwood, author of Elizabeth: The Queen and the Crown, previously told PEOPLE.

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Added royal biographer Penny Junor, “She’s never trying to outshine him in any way. 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.”