William's sweet gesture to Kate is his way to say "I love you," body language expert claims

Prince William and Princess Kate visited Wales on 1st March to mark their first St. David's Day as Prince and Princess of Wales.

Later that day, they made the trip back to their hometown of Windsor to visit the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards at Combermere Barracks for the St. David's Day Parade.

Both royals seemed to be really enjoying their new roles with regards to Wales, but Kate showed extra confidence, as far as one body language expert is concerned.

"Kate very much tends to take the lead these days," Darren Stanton tells Marie Claire on behalf of Betfair Bingo.

"When walking about, you will notice she no longer waits for security to open the door on vehicles and is straight out — with or without William.

"This is not a sign of disrespect or disdain, however she now realises that she no longer needs to be joined at William’s hip. When they attend events together, William is clearly happy to let her take the lead, which has allowed Kate to develop massively."

Darren also made another very lovely observation: that the royal lovebirds look more in sync than ever, and display small but unmistakeable gestures of affection towards each other when they appear in public.

"William and Kate always appear comfortable in each other's presence," Darren says.

"During the early stages of their marriage, they looked quite disjointed whilst attending public appearances as a brand-new item.

"Since then, they have definitely grown into their roles as individuals. Like most couples, they have their own little signals between each other, and every now again, William will look at her in a certain way. This is quite sweet and adoring, as if to say I love you.

"They’re also not afraid to hold hands or share the odd kiss, which proves they are affectionate. In fact, we recently saw Kate tapping William’s backside."

In case you somehow missed *that* episode, the Princess was caught on camera making the cheeky gesture towards her husband as they arrived at the BAFTA awards a couple of weeks ago. We love seeing the royals' fun side, honestly. Long may it continue!