Following her unexpected appearance at a Remembrance Service in London on Sunday (11 Nov), a lip reader has claimed she's caught wind of some comments made by the Princess of Wales about her husband Prince William's new beard.
Standing beside Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh on one of Buckingham Palace's secondary balconies at the weekend, Kate Middleton filled in for Queen Camilla at the prestigious memorial service after she was temporarily absolved of her Royal duties following a chest infection diagnosis.
The official appearance marked one of the first made by Kate following her cancer diagnosis - which she initially announced back in March.
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By September, however, the Princess had officially returned to public work, revealing in an emotional 'home video' that she was cancer-free after finishing chemotherapy.
Watching the annual wreath-laying ceremony from above - with the entire service aimed at memorialising the lives lost during the two World Wars - Kate and Sophie were seen chatting closely with one another.
In contrast, William - along with several other higher-up members of the British Royal Family - had joined the parade below.
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Now, a lip reader who closely watched the TV broadcast of the event claims to have noticed a conversation that William's wife had with his aunt-in-law about a recent change to his appearance.
Followers of the monarchy's recent public ventures will have noticed by now that 42-year-old William has been donning facial hair that is thicker than ever seen before.
And by the sounds of things, Kate is a big fan.
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Human behaviour expert Nicola Hickling told The Sun that one moment during Sunday's service saw mother-of-two Sophie - who is married to King Charles III's youngest brother, Prince Edward - reaching out and asked Kate: "What, you like a beard?"
And apparently, Kate can be seen admitting: "I find it quite rousing."
Hicking claims Sophie then responds laughing, 'You're all better now', to which mum-of-three Kate also begins giggling.
The moment has also been analysed by another lip reader Kayleigh Harris, however, who also told the publication that Kate described the future King's beard as 'never quite rounded', as opposed to 'rousing'.
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She adds that Sophie then responds: "It's a lot better now."
The discussion also comes after Harris claimed another segment of the conversation had between Kate and Sophie saw them discussing a mystery woman.
Apparently, Kate could be seen telling Sophie: "She will be supported in this."
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And according to Harris, Sophie then told the Princess: "Yes, and especially..." With the end of the sentence reportedly being indistinguishable.
The lip reader then claims Kate was seen saying 'it's so special' before she added: "You're never quite ready for this."
Sophie is said to have agreed with her, allegedly replying: "Yes, absolutely."
Topics: Prince William, Royal Family, Kate Middleton, UK News