Kate and Wills delight fans with rare PDA in backstage snaps

Royal fans were left swooning over a series of never-before-seen backstage snaps of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the recent Earthshot Prize Awards in London.

Released three days after the inaugural environmental event, the stunning black and white pics capture Prince William and Kate Middleton together behind-the-scenes at Alexandra Palace.

'Genuine love and affection'

In one of the shots, taken by royal photographer Chris Jackson, the future king is seen taking a contemplative moment alone in the wings before stepping onto the stage.

Another shows the glamorous pair emerging from behind a curtain, looking relaxed and happy.

But it was Jackson's third photo of Kate and Wills that fans loved the most. Snapped from behind the couple, it captures a rare moment of PDA between the Cambridges that's not often seen at public engagements.

Kate, who re-wore a stunning Alexander McQueen gown for the occasion, places a hand on her husband's lower back while deep in conversation. The pair, heads bent together, appear almost unaware that they've been photographed.

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Both Jackson and the duke and duchess shared the pics to their respective Instagram accounts, much to the delight of royal fans.

"I hope these pictures illustrate some of the depth of feeling throughout the event," Jackson wrote in his caption, thanking Kate and Will for the opportunity to snap the intimate backstage pics.

Fans flooded the comments with compliments and praise for the 'radiant' royal couple.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh The loveliest pair imaginable," gushed one.

"How lovely to see genuine love and affection," remarked another.

"Absolutely Magical event, with our future King and Queen looking radiant," said a third.

One fan went so far as to declare the photos "Like a scene from a fairytale".

TV host's Kate comments

Speaking after the event, Good Morning Britain host Richard Madeley left viewers 'horrified' over his comments about Kate Middleton's appearance.

"She's so slim isn't she, Kate," Richard remarked to his co-host, Susanna Reid. "Tiny, tiny waist," he added.

Susanna tried to move things along, saying: "She looks absolutely terrific."

Twitter users took Richard to task over his comments about the royal mum-of-three, with many demanding he 'do better'.

"Oh Richard, just watching gmb, and I was horrified to hear your comments about the size of Kate's waist!" one person wrote.

"Whole VT about climate change… what earthshot can do for the planet… switch back to @richardm56 and all he says is about how slim Kate Middleton is. Geez do better," another person called out.

Earthshot ethos

Spearheaded by Prince William, the Earthshot Prize was designed to incentivise environmental change by offering a hefty £1million in prize money to governments, scientists, activists and businesses to find ideas to tackle global warming.

Proving it's possible to be both fashionable and sustainable, Kate restyled an Alexander McQueen dress a decade after first wearing it to a BAFTA event in 2011.

William asked all guests at the event to "consider the environment when choosing their outfit".

Hence, he wore a recycled dark green velvet blazer from Reiss, which he had previously worn to a charity event for Centrepoint in 2019, as well as an old turtleneck and a 20-year-old pair of trousers.

To further prove their point, the royals arrived at the event in an electric Audi car and no plastic was used to build the stage.

Celebrity attendees also sported eco-friendly outfits, such as actor Emma Watson who wore a dress made from thrifted wedding gowns.

Additional reporting by Kristine Tarbert.

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