5 Times Royals Dropped the Stiff Upper Lip and Showed Us How They Really Feel

One of the topics we often discuss is how the British Royal Family is good at hiding what they really feel. These royals are trained in the art of the “stiff upper lip,” and they also know how bad it can get for themselves and even the entire family if they have an unguarded moment in public.

However, royals are only human, and they can’t contain their emotions forever. Moreover, thanks to smartphones, it’s not just the paparazzi they have to worry about. All it takes is for a random person to snap a picture or record a video and show who these royals really are.

Wondering what the Royal Family is like when they don’t think (or just don’t care) that anyone is watching? Keep reading to discover the wildest examples!

William loves sports a little too much

Prince William is even better at the whole stiff upper lip thing than most of his relatives. Then again, as the future King of England, maybe we should have expected William to be the portrait of cool and collected composure.

All of that melts away, though, once William gets a little too invested in sports. At Wimbledon 2022, William and (to a lesser extent) Kate ran through an entire gamut of emotions, and William wasn’t afraid to tell the world how he felt about certain plays. And as Cosmopolitan reports, William was even caught cursing on camera, saying “no, no, no f*** it.”

Generally speaking, royals keep cool to maintain the respect of the public. But we have to say, a Prince William who gets really hyped up about sports and speaks his mind when the game is going poorly may be the most relatable royal of them all!

RELATED: The Biggest Royal Rules Prince William Has Ever Broken

Charles keeps freaking out over pens

As the father of William, it’s unfortunate to see that King Charles is often the very opposite of being a relatable royal. And this is most clear in the memorable incidents where he seems to freak out over misadventures with pens (yes, you read that right).

For example, when his Accession Council meeting was televised (a first in British television history), it should have been a great day for Charles because he was getting officially proclaimed king. But all social media could talk about was a moment when a pen tray got in his way when he was signing documents. He looked positively angry as he gestured for it to be taken away, giving us a rare glimpse of the Charles who never hesitates to bark orders and get his servants to remove minor inconveniences.

And as The Guardian reports, Charles had an even more memorable run-in with a pen soon afterward. When his pen started leaking, the king blurted out “I can’t bear this bloody thing … every stinking time.” We’re still not sure if the pen is truly mightier than the sword, but it certainly seems to be mightier than the king. 

Prince Louis and the royal meltdown

For the most part, these unguarded royal moments occur at unexpected times. In these scenarios, royals might not realize how many people are watching them or if any cameras are on. Unfortunately, when young Prince Louis had his insane meltdown at the queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations last year, the entire world happened to be watching.

Throughout the event, Louis cupped his ears in annoyance at planes flying by, thumbing his nose at his mother, and generally screaming in uncontained excitement. Things got so bad that Kate unsuccessfully tried to calm him down, and annoyance was practically etched onto her famous face.

RELATED: 8 Things You Didn’t Know About Prince Louis

A palpable beef between Harry and William

Even though royals try to keep their family drama private, it has been the world’s worst-kept secret that Prince William and Prince Harry have been beefing for a long time. And this has extended to their spouses, with Kate Middleton seemingly having no love lost for Meghan Markle.

For the most part, they have done a good job of not letting this royal rift show in public. However, a major exception to this was the 2020 Commonwealth Day service. Various body language experts chimed in to express how tense both Harry and Kate seemed to be. But to us, all it takes is one look at a photo of the four together at this event to see how they really feel about hanging out within a thousand miles of each other!

Kate rolls her eyes at an unexpected order

While she hasn’t quite achieved the level of Princess Diana (at least, not yet), Kate Middleton has shaped into something of a “people’s princess” herself. There are many reasons for this, but one of them is that, when she thinks no one is looking, Kate often reacts to the absurdity of the world around her the same way the rest of us would.

The best example of this came from her visit to America in 2014. During the visit, she went to Northside Center for Child Development in New York and put herself to use by wrapping presents for children that might otherwise not receive anything. It was a very kind gesture for a visiting royal to help out America’s poor children, but as The Guardian reports, a worker who clearly didn’t recognize Kate told her at one point to “keep wrapping.” Kate, clearly not used to receiving orders from anybody (much less a random American) suddenly rolled her eyes, letting us know how she felt before she dutifully got back to work.

If that’s not funny and relatable enough, The Times reports that Kate is not a fan of Suits, the show that made Meghan Markle famous. A royal insider told the publication that on one occasion, simply hearing the name of the show prompted Kate to roll her eyes. And if we’re being honest, that’s the kind of delightful pettiness we can’t help but cheer on.

RELATED: How Marriage To Prince William Completely Transformed Kate Middleton’s Life