William and Kate recreated this sweet moment from 2014

The Order Of The Garter Service At Windsor Castle

(Image credit: Photo by Getty)

published 20 June 2023

Royal fans are getting serious déjà vu right now.

During the Order of the Garter service at Windsor Castle on Monday, Prince William and Princess Kate shared a fleeting but lovely moment, and eagle-eyed observers realised that the interaction was basically identical to one they had during the same event in 2014.

While the Prince of Wales was arriving for the ceremony alongside the King, Princess Kate stood waiting for him on the sidelines, flashing her husband a massive grin, in the exact same way as she did almost a decade ago. She was even standing next to the same member of the Royal Family: Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, who greeted her own husband Prince Edward in a similar way.

Taking to Twitter, royal fan @Canellecitadelle compared photos from each event, and the resemblance is striking.

They wrote: "History is repeating itsef [sic] ... William and Catherine have just recreated a scene that is over 12 years old ... Before Marriage when she was just his girlfriend & After 12 years of marriage ... Their love is everything"

In the comments, someone stepped in to say that the first photo was actually from 2014, but either way, the argument stands.

Another royal fan chimed in: "I get the feeling that W&C have some kind of running joke related to the Garter Service, and that's why she looks like she's on the verge of giggling. Which is adorable in and of itself."

And another said: "Their love just got stronger and her smile bigger for him with time"

Well, this is all extremely sweet.

Meanwhile, the service was also very significant for the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, as pointed out by Hello!: not only was it scheduled for their 24th wedding anniversary, but it also took place in the same place where they actually got married, i.e. St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle (which was also Prince Harry, as well as Princess Eugenie's wedding venue).

How about that for synchronicity!

Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.

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