Prince Harry ‘Copies’ Kate Middleton in Charity Awards Video: ‘He’s Very Much the Prince’
TL;DR:
- Prince Harry appeared in a Feb. 7 video to announce nominations for the 2023 WellChild Awards were open.
- Looking “very much the Prince,” the 38-year-old seemed to “mirror” Kate Middleton, according to an expert.
- Additionally, Prince Harry’s “body language and delivery” made it seem like the “past few years never happened.”
“Prince” mode activated. In a February 2023 charity video appearance, Prince Harry looked “very much the Prince” while taking a page from Kate Middleton’s book. Ahead, a body language expert’s analysis of the Duke of Sussex’s 2023 WellChild Awards clip and how he appeared to copy his sister-in-law.
Prince Harry looked as if ‘the past few years never happened’ in a 2023 WellChild Awards video, expert says
Royal family rift? Years of tension culminating in an exit from royal life, tell-all interviews, and a deeply personal memoir? According to body language expert Judi James, Harry looked like it “never happened” when he announced nominations for the 2023 WellChild Awards were open in a Feb. 7 video.
“Harry’s body language and delivery in this promotional video makes it almost seem as though the past few years never happened,” James said (via Express). “In his plain shirt and with no trace of his US accent, he is very much the Prince [sic] here, delivering his message in a very simple way that lacks the lecturing or guru style of some of his more recent performances.”
WellChild, of which Harry’s been a patron since 2007, “provides a network of support for families who are facing countless medical, logistical, and mental health challenges,” the father of two continued.
Per the outlet’s understanding, Harry filmed the short video for WellChild in January 2023 at his and Meghan Markle’s home in Montecito, California.
Prince Harry’s body language echoed Kate Middleton’s with ‘subtle hand gestures,’ ‘tilting the head,’ and ‘pumping of the arms’
According to James, Harry’s body language in the WellChild Awards video looked similar to another British royal, the Princess of Wales.
“The slight pumping of the arms against the torso and the subtle hand gestures, as well as the trait of tilting the head to the side, almost seem to mirror Kate’s body language when she promotes her own children’s causes,” James said, noting it “registers contagious enthusiasm that is partly internalised [sic].”
“The only difference from Harry,” the expert added, “is his motivational finger-point to camera to encourage viewers to get involved.”
The similarities to Kate didn’t seem to stop there. James also noticed a likeness to his sister-in-law in the way Harry “copies Kate’s trait of a slight tightening of the lips to create a rather regal sound.”
Prince Harry’s 2023 WellChild Awards video appearance dubbed ‘one of his most royal performances’ by expert
The 90-second clip for the WellChild Awards was, per James, a show Harry still has “royal performances” in him despite stepping back as a senior royal in 2020.
“It’s interesting that after the publication of his book Spare — which will have risked alienating him further from the royals — Harry put in one of his most royal performances here,” she said.
James continued, saying his “mirroring” of “the more regal, British body language” suggested that “he still wants to be seen as a valuable part of the Firm.”
2019 marked the last time the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the WellChild Awards together in London. The pair canceled a scheduled appearance at the 2022 ceremony due to Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
