Expert Points Out How Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Both Recently Discussed ‘Their Past Lives Being So Damaging and Sad’
A body language expert compared what Prince Harry said at the Masters of Scale Summit to Meghan Markle’s message in her recent Archetypes podcast. The expert looked at how both of the Sussexes touched on their “past lives being so damaging and sad.”
Prince Harry joined BetterUp CEO at the Masters of Scale Summit
Harry joined BetterUp CEO Alexi Robichaux and entrepreneur Reid Hoffman at the Masters of Scale Summit, where they discussed the value of coaching and therapy.
“The moment I started doing therapy, it opened my eyes,” Harry said. “I was moving through life thinking there was only one way to live. And therapy burst that bubble.”
Prince Harry continued, “Then when I found my way to coaching, the next bubble burst, and all of a sudden I realized that now I have perspective and a great understanding of my value. I regained confidence that I never thought I had.”
Doron Weber, VP and program director of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, tweeted a Harry quote from the event: “Prince Harry says growing up in the royal family & and then spending 10 years in the military, he never heard the words ‘therapy’ or ‘coaching.’ Then the blinkers came off and his life changed.”
Expert says Harry’s body language conveyed ‘awkwardness’
Body language expert Judi James analyzed Harry’s gestures in a photo BetterUp posted on Instagram from the event, telling Express, “Harry’s body language here hints at some level of indecision or awkwardness bordering on embarrassment.”
According to James, Harry’s hand placement provided a subtle clue about indecision. “Sitting on stage and discussing mental health he has his right hand placed on his thigh but not on the top of the thigh which would suggest alpha confidence, but clamped to the side, which seems to hint at indecision,” the body language expert explained.
“His feet are also in an awkward position, with one foot sitting on top of the other, which is bent under,” she continued. “Confidence is usually signaled by the splaying of the feet, with both soles flat on the ground but this ‘collapsed’ towering of the feet suggests some awkwardness.”
James noted that he may have appeared uncomfortable due to “some very personal discussion of his own mental health or it could be prompted by his marketing role for the company he is promoting.”
She explained, “Verbally he sounds very ‘on message’, using what sounds like inspirational messages from his therapy about therapy bursting bubbles in his life.”
Expert compares similarities of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle discussing their ‘past lives’
James further noted how Prince Harry’s discussion at the event was reminiscent of the message that Meghan conveyed in an Archetypes podcast episode.
“There are some similarities with his wife in terms of retrospectively coming to conclusions about their past lives being so damaging and sad,” James noted.
“Meghan’s podcast [episode with guest Paris Hilton] described the pain of being judged purely on beauty, while Harry describes his time as a palace-dwelling prince, living what people might clearly wrongly assume was a pampered life, as ‘thinking there was only one way to live’ and then learning a ‘greater understanding of my value,'” the expert pointed out.
James explored the way they “seem to be unified in their attempts with her podcasts and his revelations like this.”
According to the body language expert, this could be an attempt to “create empathy” because they have experienced more charmed lives than most people.
“Perhaps to show that their previous lives, as a wealthy, popular prince and as a beautiful and successful actress — which people in less fortunate or impoverished circumstances might mistakenly assume were charmed and enviable — as really worthy of sympathy, presumably to create empathy with people struggling through their daily lives,” she explained.
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
