Body Language Expert Points to ‘Virtual Generational Difference’ in How Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle Pose for Cameras
According to one body language expert, there’s a “virtual generational difference” in how Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, connect with cameras. Though they both take magnificent photos, one confidently courts the lens while the other has a more “passive” relationship.
Body language expert notes Meghan Markle courts the camera more than Kate Middleton
Body language expert Judi James spoke to Cosmopolitan UK about how Kate and Meghan show different behaviors in front of photographers. “Although Meghan is the same age as Kate, there is a virtual generational difference in their relationships with the camera,” James pointed out.
First, James noted, Meghan has a “habit of doing what is called ‘camera courting,'” or gazing directly at camera lenses. This is common in people from the “selfie generation,” she said. And it “suggests a desire to communicate openly and confidently in the way that her peers would do via social media and blogs.”
She added, “[It’s] the same trait she showed during her engagement interview and press call.” On that occasion, she said Meghan “seemed to not only take the lead in terms of choreographing the body language, but she also spoke more readily and eloquently than previous royal brides-to-be.”
James also noted that Meghan is “opening up to enable us to read her more directly.”
“… She should feel more like a friend to royal fans than a remote princess.”
Body language expert notes Kate Middleton is less confident than Meghan Markle in front of a camera
According to James, “Kate’s relationship with the cameras is much more passive,” on the other hand.
“The fact she has even got behind the camera herself to snap some of her children’s official photos suggests a slightly more introverted personality than the camera-confident Meghan,” James explained (Cosmopolitan UK). “She poses beautifully, but there is no regular direct communication from her.”
“Kate has sustained an incredible record for not showing emotional leakage in public. She always smiles perfectly,” James added, “and she always looks positive.”
That could be because of Kate’s technique of avoiding a direct gaze at the camera. “… When we look straight into the camera, we instantly give away more about ourselves and our feelings via our eyes,” James explained.
Meghan Markle uses a red carpet technique for cameras, body language expert notes
James also noted how Meghan likely uses some of her training as an actor in front of cameras. She was probably taught as a television actor to “behave more like Kate,” as James said.
“Actors spend their careers avoiding looking straight into [the] camera,” James explained. “… If [Meghan] did accidentally glance into the lens during filming, the whole scene would have to be re-shot as the invisible wall between the actor and their audience would have been breached.”
However, James said, “There is a moment in an actor’s life when they do have to court the cameras directly as Meghan does, and that is during red carpet appearances.”
“This is the one occasion when an actor will learn to pick out the cameras in the crowds and engage it with prolonged bouts of direct eye contact to get the shot,” James noted. “It could be that this red carpet technique is the one Meghan is mimicking when she works the crowds with Harry.”
