A recent profile in Tatler painted Kate Middleton as someone who carefully — too carefully — cultivates a bland, inoffensive public persona, which we think was pretty unfair. While the Duchess of Cambridge and future queen does her best to represent the royal family well in public, she definitely has a naughty, fun-loving side that has broken through from time to time.
Prince William has said that Kate has a wicked sense of humor, and, really, we didn't even need to hear it from him — because we can plainly see that in Kate ourselves. Many times, the duchess has delivered zingers while greeting people outside a venue she's visiting. We've heard the stories about funny Christmas gifts she's given, and seen picture after picture of her laughing maniacally (in a good way).
We've also seen her wild child pictures (yes, she did have a wild child phase), so all in all, it's safe to say that Kate is, well, not as safe as she's portrayed — despite the prim and proper way that she carries herself as a royal.
Look, the woman is preparing to sit beside her husband on the throne someday as queen consort, OK? So excuse her if she's got to act the part. Still, there's room for appearing more relatable and approachable, and she's been doing a pretty good job of that, too — from getting real about motherhood's rewards and challenges, to playing bingo with elderly people and cavorting with kids during her royal engagements.
But nothing Kate does is quite as satisfying as when she's out and about acting naughty and funny, showing her willingness to be seen as a regular person — while breaking the monotony that comes with life as a senior working royal.
Check out these 19 times when Kate was naughty, and prepare to see her in a whole new light.
Winning Prince William With Her Sense of Humor
During their engagement interview, William revealed that one of the things he and Kate have in common is an off-color sense of humor. "She's got a really naughty sense of humor, which really helps me because I've got a really dirty sense of humor so it was good fun. We had a really good laugh, and then things happened," William said.
We'd love to hear some of their exchanges!
Hitting the Club While on a Relationship Break
Kate and William may look like the perfect couple now, but they had their ups and downs and broke up three times. When William dumped her in April 2007, Kate didn't stay at home and sulk. She and sister Pippa went out and partied hearty. Paparazzi captured this picture of the Middleton sisters looking a little sauced and having the time of their lives inside a cab post-club. Kate had probably just finished telling Pippa a raucous joke.
Making William Gasp
We have no idea what's going on here, but we know it's got to be good, right? Then-newlyweds Kate and William were watching a kids' dance show during their 2011 trip to Los Angeles, but those shows can get a little, um, tough to sit through. (Amiright?) It looks like Kate took the opportunity to do a bit of gossiping — or front-load him on, uh, her plans for him once they get back to the hotel. Whatever she said, William's wide-eyed expression makes it clear that it was naughty!
Rolling Her Eyes While Cameras Were on Her
The usually prim and proper Kate may have a better poker face these days as she prepares to be queen, but during an official trip to New York with William in 2014, she did a solo gig wrapping presents for underprivileged kids. Kate was wrapping and chatting with a fellow volunteer, and when one of the event's organizers urged the participants to "keep wrapping, ladies," Kate can be seen reacting with a bit of an impish eye roll. Hilarious — and naughty!
Going Bellatrix Lestrange on Us
With all the sacrifices and changes she's made since marrying William, you can bet that Kate has some serious pent-up desires to change a thing or two with the wave of a wand. We can just see it in her eyes as she went all in with a wizard wand during a visit to the London studios where the Harry Potter movies were made. Wonder what she was thinking at this moment. Easy there, Kate!
Gloating After Beating William in a Yacht Race
We can't see William in this picture, but that's who Kate is gesturing to after her sailing team beat his twice in a race in New Zealand back in 2014. Kate is uber-competitive — which is no surprise, given that she's been involved in sports since she was a kid — and she's not the least bit worried about letting everyone that she's a winner, including England's future king. (Tsk! Tsk!)
When She Reportedly Called William 'Sexy' in Public
In his book William and Catherine, royal biographer Andrew Morton wrote that while attending William's graduation from military academy in 2006, Kate made a comment about how he looked as he passed by: "I love the uniform. So, so sexy," Kate said, according to Andrew. We wouldn't doubt it — who doesn't love a man in uniform?
Modeling a Sheer Dress in a Fashion Show
Ah, the freewheeling college days. What are they for — besides preparing for a career — if not to have fun and look hot while we can?! Kate and William were reportedly just friends … until she hit the catwalk at a college benefit fashion show. William's eyes popped out of his head when he saw her strut down in a minidress made out of sheer fabric, with a lacy bra and panties underneath. By the way, the infamous dress sold at auction for $125,781 shortly before Kate and William's 2011 wedding.
Dying To Let Loose in Tuvalu
We love this video so much! William and Kate traveled to the South Pacific island of Tuvalu in 2012 as part of a royal tour, and during one event, they were given traditional outfits and headwear, and were asked to join in the dancing. Now, obviously, William more than readily complied, as we can see in the video. And Kate? She's got hop-swaying moves, and we can see her struggling to maintain queenly composure while her whole body is dying to just let go and get down. She's definitely got a glint in her eye.
Downing a Pint
Every time Kate is pictured with a drink in her hand (which is not uncommon, by the way), there's at least one shot of her looking at the drink with a big smile on her face. Girlfriend enjoys a good tipple, and hey, it's part of the job — especially when she attends the St. Patrick's Day parade by the Irish Guards, a unit of the British Army. After the event, Kate always has a pint of Guinness back at the barracks.
A good stout and some cute guys in uniform? What's not to like?
Smacking William With a Snowball
Sometimes, the only way to get the hubby to shut his trap is to smack him in the face with a snowball. (Just kidding!) We know that Kate has a wicked sense of humor, and that William goes right along with it — so it's no surprise that she pelted him with a snowball in full view of photographers at a ski resort in Norway.
Dressing Up as a 'Sexy Nurse' for a Costume Party
In 2007, after Kate and William broke up, he pleaded with her to take him back, inviting Kate to a costume party at his barracks (he was in the military at the time). She went, and according to royal biographer Katie Nicholls, she showed up in a sexy nurse costume, complete with fishnet stockings. (Get a glimpse here.) William followed her around like a puppy, Katie wrote, and that's how the game of thrones is played, ladies and gentlemen (haha).
Blasting Prince Harry's Eardrums
Kate and Prince Harry were super close back when he was a single dude and the unofficial third wheel during their official outings. The two joked a lot together, and here, Kate took it to another level by jolting him with a blast from an air horn while at the London Marathon in 2017. It's great to see the duchess have some laughs in public and break through her usually placid public persona.
Check out our Meghan Markle page for all the latest news about Meghan, Prince Harry, and their growing family.
Giving Harry a Hilarious Christmas Present
Before he met Meghan, Harry was chronically single. He'd had a couple of long-term girlfriends, but couldn't seem to make it to the altar, despite wanting desperately to be a dad, and Kate knew that. The duchess lived up to her reputation for having a saucy sense of humor and gave him an unforgettable Christmas gift: a "Grow Your Own Girlfriend" kit. Zing!!
Making Fun of William's Bald Spot
Among the many weird things that royals do is watching animals get sheared. Kate and William are no different, and during their 2014 tour of Australia, they took in an alpaca shearing session. When the farmer doing the shearing pointed out that the wool was the same shade as the prince's hair, Kate was quick with a joke.
"The prince was interested in the alpaca and as I showed it to them, the princess said he should put it on his head," the farmer told reporters. "She said, 'You need it more than me,' and pointed to [William's] head and he laughed."
Dayum!
Mocking William
There's tons of evidence that Kate and William find ways to enjoy themselves while on duty. When the couple was in North Wales on a visit in 2015, they went rappelling off a stone wall. When it was William's turn, and he started to climb down, he asked Kate if she was holding on to his safety rope, to which she called out: "William! How much do you love me?" before exploding in laughter.
Joking About Having More Babies
Kate and William were visiting Poland in 2017 when a fan waiting their turn to greet them gave Kate a plush toy designed to make newborns stay asleep longer. Kate gave the fan a typically quick-witted answer: "We'll just have to have more babies," she said, shooting an embarrassed-looking William a look. And lo and behold, next year, she gave birth to Prince Louis.
Putting on Short-Shorts & Skating for Charity
Royal rules? What royal rules? In 2008, Kate may have been getting serious with William after several breakups, but that doesn't mean that she was going to give up being young and having fun. She donned this cute but racy — by stuffy royal standards of palace aides who complained — outfit to a charity skating event in London, and was, as usual, living her life and having fun. Kate may be the future queen now, but in this picture, we don't see a ring on her finger!
Taking a Little Tumble
Was it wearing ill-advised wedges to walk among the grapevines at a vineyard, or perhaps one swig too many of wine that made the duchess turn her ankle while on a tour of New Zealand? Or maybe, a combination of the two — plus jet lag (that's our vote)? We'll never know for sure, but we do know that Kate never fell to the ground, as she recovered pretty well. Fiddle dee dee. Nothing to see here!
