Body Language Expert Says Princess Diana Seems Uncomfortable In Engagement Photos: Her Gestures Appear to Say ‘I Don’t Want You to Enter Here’
Princess Diana and King Charles seemed to have a fairytale romance at the beginning of their courtship. However, things were not as they appeared. A body language expert says there’s evidence Diana was uncomfortable during her engagement photos with King Charles.
Princess Diana and King Charles’ relationship
Diana and Charles had a difficult marriage. The couple had moments when they looked quite unhappy. Princess Diana later revealed during her Panorama interview with Martin Bashir that her marriage had become “crowded.”
“There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” she told Bashir during her BBC interview. Diana was referring to Camilla Parker Bowles and the alleged affair she was having with Charles.
Princess Diana appears uncomfortable in her 1981 engagement photos with King Charles
Princess Diana’s 1981 engagement picture seems to show how uncomfortable she is in the spotlight, according to body language expert Traci Brown. Diana hasn’t had much experience with being the center of attention, so she crosses one arm over the other, in an attempt to protect herself, says Brown.
“Charles is looking down and through the tops of his eyes,” Brown tells Today. “Diana’s not reaching for him. She’s not 100 percent comfortable with being in the limelight because her one arm is straight, and the other arm is crossed – she’s protecting. It’s not an elegant look. We would never see this from her in her later years. This is all new to her, it’s brand new.”
Body language expert Patti Wood also says Diana appears uncomfortable. King Charles (then Prince Charles) has his hands on her shoulders, but she she doesn’t appear comfortable.
“[Charles has] this big smile on his face,” Wood tells Today. “She is leaning her head in his direction and towards him. She’s got a smile on her face, but you see her doing a ‘locked cross,’ meaning her arm is wrapped all around her body and she’s grabbing it on the other side. That creates a locked wall of ‘I don’t want you to enter here.’
Princess Diana continues to look unhappy before the wedding
Brown and Wood analyzed another photo of King Charles and Princess Diana. In this photo, the two are sitting in a limousine, on their way to their first public engagement together.
Brown says Charles seems confident, but Diana seems down and unsure of herself. She looks as if she doesn’t want to attend the event. “Charles appears confident, like things are going well,” says Brown. “Diana’s not happy in this moment – the angle of her neck and her eyes are really wide as well.”
Wood points out how “down” Diana’s body language appears. She says her gestures are in stark contrast to Charles’ gestures.
“What’s significant about her, if you look, you [see] how downward her body language is,” says Wood during her Today interview. “It actually pulls your energy down. Here she is, in a limo, gorgeous dress, perfect hair and makeup and she looks down and defeated and looking off to the side. It’s a sharp contrast to how he looks. He’s got an ‘I’m looking good tonight’ look on his face. The disconnect is dramatic.”
During the Netflix documentary Harry and Meghan, Prince Harry says Diana often struggled with being in the public eye. He says sometimes she would cry in the car on the way to an event and then pull herself together in time to appear in public and pose for pictures.
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