Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s last UK outing as senior royals was always going to be a show-stopper. But when it came to farewelling palace life, Meghan did it with her trademark confidence and style.
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Now body language expert Judi James tells New Idea the duchess’ wide smile and assured appearance was a glimpse of the real Meghan.
“We were seeing Meghan exert her own power and personality, unencumbered by the restrictions of being just Harry’s wife or the royal newbie. She oozed star status and her styling and body language reflected that look,” explains Judi.
Judi adds that attending their last royal events would have required some “formidable acting skills” from Meghan, who was returning to the country that has shown her increasing hostility over recent months.
Meghan’s body language revealed she was also “clearly supporting a very tense and at times sad and emotional Harry”.
Judi adds: “Many of the poses produced the kind of iconic moments that Harry and Meghan love to display on Instagram and other social media.”
The now-famous umbrella shot of the couple gazing at each other with wide smiles shows that the feeling of love between them “did look real”.
“Harry’s gesticulation in particular has suggested he is as besotted as ever,” says Judi, who adds: “To create an intimate moment like that in front of crowds and cameras and make it look like a Vogue shoot does take some expertise.”
While royal commentators were quick to speculate whether the couple were happy that this was their last official event, behind the scenes tension among the royals was reportedly at an all-time high.
According to the Mail Online, Harry and Meghan became “emotional” and “upset” before the Commonwealth Day service after being told they wouldn’t be joining the Queen’s procession into Westminster Abbey.
A source confirmed to Vanity Fair: “It’s not been easy for anyone. I think they’re both pretty emotional.”
But Judi says despite their obvious concern about being back in the environment they appear so keen to escape, Meghan and Harry’s non-verbal signals told another story.
“I feel they were keen to project a list of positive qualities, like pride, strong like-minded bonding and – clearly – love. This could have been a low-key performance making them look like escaping royals suffering pangs of guilt, but Meghan’s non-verbal signals were more about status in her own right and a confident image.”
For more, see this week’s New Idea – out now!
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