According to body language expert Judi James, Prince William and Catherine Middleton can generally be seen strolling next to one other in close proximity with their hands at their sides. This behavior indicates that they are comfortable with one another (via Express). The Prince and Princess of Wales adopt a different method, and they know precisely what they’re doing. While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle prefer to hold hands during public appearances, the Prince and Princess of Wales take a different approach.

“William and Kate’s habit of not holding hands in public seems to be based more on a conscious decision rather than any aversion to this particular form of PDA,” James stated, adding that they have been seen in the past happily holding hands away from the prying eyes of the cameras. “William and Kate’s habit of not holding hands in public seems to be based on a conscious decision rather than any aversion to this particular form of PDA.” Their more physical forms of PDA include touching each other on the back or putting an arm around the other person’s waist.

James also said that William and Kate likely make the decision not to hold hands in public in order to emulate the behavior of the kings and queens who came before them, who did not exhibit public shows of love (via The U.S. Sun).

According to James, “as future king and queen, they will always have been aware of using similar signals to previous wearers of the crown, which entail no hand-holding in public.” He went on to say that hand-holding can often portray a youthful stage of a relationship, which William and Kate are certainly no longer in. “As future king and queen they will always have been aware of using similar signals to previous wearers of the crown,” he said.

Although it has been documented in the past that the couple has shown some affection for one another, it would seem that when they are formally representing the crown, they like to keep things professional.