Loved-up Princess Kate and Prince William share sweet Valentine’s Day post with poignant nod to their ‘hardest year’
PRINCE William has shared a sweet Valentine's Day post to Princess Kate with a nod to their "hardest year".
The royal, 42, posted an adorable picture of the couple sitting on a tree trunk, amidst a backdrop of beautiful woodland scenery.
Wills captioned the photograph, which shows Kate giggling as he kisses her cheek, with a simple red love heart.
Fans swooned over the candid snap and hailed "true love forever".
The picture is a poignant nod to the pair's "hardest year", as it was taken from a video they released revealing Kate had finished chemotherapy.
The family also used a different shot from the same video in their Christmas card at the end of last year.
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In November, William said the cancer diagnoses of his wife and dad King Charles were “brutal”, but he was “so proud” of both.
Asked on a trip to South Africa how his year had been, he replied: “Honestly? It’s been dreadful.
“It’s probably been the hardest year in my life.”
This comes after Wills also shared a touching tribute to Kate on her birthday last month.
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He wished a Happy 43rd Birthday to "the most incredible wife and mother".
The dad-of-three marked Kate's special day with an unprecedented personal post and hailed her unwavering "strength".
The proud husband wrote: "To the most incredible wife and mother.
"The strength you’ve shown over the last year has been remarkable. George, Charlotte, Louis and I are so proud of you.
"Happy Birthday, Catherine. We love you. W"
William also shared an unseen black and white picture of the Princess.
Inside Prince William and Kate Middleton's relationship - in their words
AFTER years of dating, Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement on November 16, 2010.
Prince William revealed in their interview with BBC that he knew from the start that Kate was different from other people.
He said in their engagement interview: "From my point of view, when I first met Kate, I knew there was something very special about her.”
When asked what drew them together, it turns out her “naughty sense of humour” was the tipping point.
He said: “She’s got a really naughty sense of humour, which really helps me because I’ve got a really dirty sense of humour so it was good fun, we had a really good laugh, and then things happened.”
And it appears that Prince William is a very caring partner towards Kate. Swoon.
She previously told Hello! how much of a gentleman William is, and said: "You know, over the years William has looked after me, he's treated me very well — as the loving boyfriend he is, he is very supportive of me through the good times and also through the bad times.”
In April 2011, Prince William and Kate Middleton tied the knot at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony watched around the world by millions of fans.
Kate wore a spectacular Alexander McQueen dress and the smitten prince could be seen telling Kate: “You look beautiful” before the service began.
They may have an unconventional life, but when it comes to their relationship, it all boils down to having fun.
Prince William added: “Obviously we both have a very fun time together, both have a very good sense of humour about things, we're down to earth, we take the mickey out of each other a lot, and she's got plenty of habits that make me laugh that I tease her about."
It was taken by photographer Matt Porteous and shows Kate standing tall, but looking relaxed, in Windsor last summer.
It comes as Kate marks a gradual return to work following a turbulent past 12 months.
It has now been just over a year since the princess was admitted to hospital for an operation on January 16, seven days after her 42nd birthday.
She spent nearly two weeks in the London Clinic after major abdominal surgery, before beginning chemotherapy.
Since then, the 43-year-old has remained largely out of the public eye.
But, she announced in September last year that her had finished chemotherapy and she would focus on being "cancer free" in a heartwarming video.
By the end of 2024, the Princess made more appearances including hosting her annual Together at Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey.
And that gradual return continues in 2025 — although fans have been warned not to expect Kate to be “rushing back to the same volume of work” as before.
It is also understood tours abroad are “not on the table”, despite Prince William last year saying they might “have some more trips lined up”.
Instead, Kate’s “primary focus” will be her Centre for Early Childhood and UK-based engagements. She is expected to be seen “up and down the country” this year.
She will also support the Royal Family at events such as Buckingham Palace Garden Parties, Trooping the Colour, Royal Ascot and the Remembrance Day commemorations.
This week, the Princess visited a women's jail to meet pregnant convicts and mums of babies born behind bars.
The royal spoke to four mum's about how they cope - as she toured into HMP Styal near Wilmslow in Cheshire.
Kate - patron of Action for Children, wanted to see the jail's Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) to highlight how important "strong, loving and consistent" relationships are to a child’s development - even in the most challenging of environments.
As she walked through the prison grounds dozens of women inmates leaned out of the windows and the royal was greeted with loud wolf-whistles and cat-calls.
The princess smiled, waved and said "hello" to inmates who peered out for a glimpse of their royal visitor.
Her face-to-face with inmates with newborn babies was private but she also got to speak to two ex-inmates, who had been mothers while previously behind bars.
And earlier this month, Kate was joined by young children for an interactive day at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
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The gallery had previously launched the Princess' Shaping Us Framework - a new project aiming to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of social and emotional skills across society.
The mum-of-three was pictured playing teacher as she accompanied beaming pupils from All Souls CE Primary School on the school bus to the event - and helped them draw self-portraits.
Timeline of Kate's health battle & recovery
JAN 16: Kate is admitted to the London Clinic for abdominal surgery
JAN 17: Kensington Palace announce the princess underwent abdominal surgery
JAN 18: William spends time at Kate's bedside
JAN 23: The princess' hospital stay passes one week
JAN 29: Kate leaves hospital
FEB 27: Prince William pulls out of service last-minute due to 'personal matter', sparking wave of unfounded conspiracy theories about Kate’s health
MAR 4: Princess pictured in the car with mum Carole on the Windsor estate
Mar 10: Royal posts a sweet snap of her and the kids for Mother's Day – then fans started spotting flaws, and massive agencies put out 'kill notice' on photo
Mar 11: Kate admits she edited photo, and is snapped in car with William
Mar 16: Royal fans spot the Princess at farm shop near Windsor
Mar 17: Onlookers see Kate watching her youngsters playing sport
Mar 18: The Sun exclusively published video of Kate and Wills from two days prior
Mar 22: Kate bravely reveals in an emotional video that she was given a shock cancer diagnosis
April 29: Kate and William mark 13th anniversary releasing unseen wedding photos
June 8: Kate does not attend Colonel's Review but pens letter to Irish Guards revealing: "I do hope that I am able to represent you all once again very soon"
June 15: Kate attends Trooping the Colour alongside her family
July 14: Kate attends the Wimbledon Men's Final with Princess Charlotte
August 11: Kate and William release video congratulating Team GB after the Paris Olympics
August 25: Kate is seen heading to church
September 9: Kate shares moving video revealing she has finished chemotherapy
