Every married couple knows that keeping the spark alive can be tough. Combine the stresses of modern life with work and children, and it can sometimes feel like head-over-heels romance is a long way away.
Duchess Catherine and Prince William have been married for eight years now, with three young children and very public jobs that invite a whole lot of scrutiny into their personal lives.
So perhaps more than anyone, they understand that a happy marriage takes constant work to keep it chugging along – but it looks like the gorgeous royal couple have been doing exactly that, if their latest adorable show of public affection is anything to go by.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge resumed their official royal duties today after taking a brief summer holiday, showing up as guests of honour at the Kings Cup Regatta, a charity sailing race tournament.
The duo competed in teams on behalf of their respective charities, with Kate competing on behalf of the Royal Foundation, while William competed for his patronage Child Bereavement UK.
The athletic Duchess looked completely at home at the event. Seriously, who else looks this good in sailing gear?!
READ NEXT: Kate and William’s love story in their own words
There is no way we could pull of this look and still look chic!
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Even with her hair in a messy ponytail, the Duchess radiates effortless glamour!
(Image: Getty Images)Despite clearly winning the style stakes on the day, the Duchess wasn’t so successful in the official tournament, with her team unfortunately coming last.
But Kate took the loss in her stride and actually shared a very sweet moment with her husband William, who presented his wife with a giant wooden spoon trophy to commemorate coming last.
The term “wooden spoon” is used to describe the person or team who comes last in a race and is often considered a humorous honour that is acknowledged with an award.
In the video below, you can see Kate humbly accepts the award and can clearly see the humour in the situation.
But what we love most is the gorgeous energy clearly visible between the Duke and Duchess, who are obviously still so in love!
The couple sharing a laugh together.
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Wills pokes fun at a clearly embarrassed Kate!
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Kate with her GIANT wooden spoon trophy – hilarious!
(Image: Getty Images)While they’ve been officially married for eight years, the couple have known each other for almost 20 years, having first met at university in 2001.
“We obviously met at university – at St Andrews we were friends for over a year first and it just sort of blossomed from then on. We just spent more time with each other had a good giggle, had lots of fun and realised we shared the same interests and just had a really good time,” William revealed in 2011 in the couple’s official engagement interview.
Kate added: “Well I actually think I went bright red when I met you and sort of scuttled off, feeling very shy about meeting you. Actually William wasn’t there for quite a bit of the time initially, he wasn’t there for Freshers Week, so it did take a bit of time for us to get to know each other but we did become very close friends from quite early on.”
WATCH BELOW: Prince William’s “awkward” interview after his breakup with Kate Middleton in 2007. Story continues after video…
But the couple actually split in 2007, before reuniting shortly afterwards.
Both Kate and William have previously said that the break-up was necessary and made them stronger as a couple.
“I think at the time I wasn’t very happy about it, but actually it made me a stronger person, you find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn’t realised, I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you are younger and I really valued that time for me as well although I didn’t think it at the time,” Kate revealed at the time of the couple’s engagement.
William also agreed.
“We were both very young, it was at university, we were both finding ourselves as such and being different characters and stuff, it was very much trying to find our own way and we were growing up, it was a bit of space and a bit of things like that and it worked out for the better,” he said.
