Body Language Expert Says Prince Harry ‘Has an Unconscious Need to Hold Meghan Markle Back’ With 1 Gesture
A body language expert questioned whether Prince Harry holds Meghan Markle back with one gesture. The couple often hold hands, but the expert wondered if there’s more to this loving gesture than meets the eye.
Expert wonders if Prince Harry holds Meghan Markle back with one body language gesture
Body language expert Louise Mahler looked specifically at when Harry and Meghan held hands when they left Queen Elizabeth’s Westminster service, wondering if Harry unconsciously holds Meghan back. She shared her analysis of their PDA, telling Australia’s Sunrise, “The hand-holding in Westminster Hall was the strangest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Mahler continued, “It was totally incongruent with everybody else for their distancing and their placement. I would have thought that people don’t hold hands in a situation like that. And for them to come together, alter the spacing, hold hands… is strange.”
She noted the way Harry placed his hand over Meghan’s hand, specifically. “I think that, again, Harry is putting his hand over the top of Meghan’s. I’m questioning whether Harry has an unconscious need to hold her back in some way,” Mahler said.
The expert added, “I’ve always thought it was protection but the fact that it never alters says to me that maybe he’s sort of holding her back.”
Body language expert calls the move ‘inappropriate’ for the setting
The expert said the couple’s body language is unusual. “She is beside him and I’ve even seen when the Fab Four walked out originally in Scotland, she actually went first through. She shoots through all the time,” Mahler said. “So it’s protection….. again, look at that photo, she’s a little bit in front of him again. Look, it’s unusual. It’s unusual.”
Overall, Mahler said their hand-holding wasn’t appropriate for the occasion. “Their touching is inappropriate in these circumstances,” she said. “It’s unsuitable.”
The other senior royals leaving at the same time didn’t hold hands. Later in the week, Harry and Meghan opted not to hold hands while leaving Westminster Abbey together following the queen’s funeral.
Expert calls Harry and Meghan’s hand-holding ‘impulsive’
Body language expert Judi James weighed in on the way Harry and Meghan performed the “impulsive gesture.” She told The Sun, “Meghan and Harry do seem to break rank to hold hands at the end of the service. It looks like an emotionally impulsive gesture, driven by a need to touch and unite again.”
Other members of the royal family walked out with a “large gap between them” by comparison.
The gesture was comforting to both Harry and Meghan, James explained. “As they walked in line behind William and Kate they closed up and both extended their hands to perform their signature hand clasp, with the clasp hanging between them,” she noted.
“The way they performed it as soon as they were able, suggested the time spent apart and then the moments standing formally together but with a gap between them had been difficult and even painful,” James explained.
She added, “Both appeared to relax very slightly once they were back using this affectionate tie-sign again.”
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