Prince Harry Makes Strange Gesture That Body Language Expert Has Never Seen Anyone Do Before
During the promotional tour for his tell-all memoir Spare, Prince Harry gave a number of interviews which royal watchers and experts have discussed and dissected. But it’s one of his earlier interviews in 2022 that a body language and behavioral expert found most interesting as the prince made a gesture “no one else ever does.”
Read on to find out what that is and what another expert noticed about the Duke of Sussex’s demeanor in that same interview.
Interview in which Prince Harry does ‘unusual’ gesture expert says ‘no one else does’
Harry displayed the unusual gesture during an interview in April 2022 when the was in the Netherlands for the Invictus Games. The prince sat down for a chat with the Today show’s Hoda Kotb to discuss the Games he founded and how he considers the States his home now.
He explained that California is home to him now. “It really feels that way,” Harry said. “We’ve been welcomed with open arms and have got such a great community up in Santa Barbara.”
Body language expert Dr. Louise Mahler analyzed the footage of that interview and one of Prince Harry’s movements really stood out to her as she has never seen anyone else do it before.
“See that with his hands? Nobody does that, nobody does that!” Mahler said on the Australian show Sunrise referring to how the duke was leaning forward and running his hand down the inside of his calf while speaking. “Nobody puts their hands in — I’ve never seen that and I’ve never done that in my life!”
Mahler concluded that Harry did it because he wasn’t “comfortable” while talking to Kotb.
Another expert weighs in on the Duke of Sussex’s gesture
Another body language expert previously watched the video and agreed that Harry did not appear to be comfortable.
Expert Inbaal Honigman, who is also a celebrity psychic, noted that not only did Harry look uncomfortable during the interview but he didn’t “look committed to his words” either. She observed that “his hands clasped in front of him, his feet planted firmly on the ground,” and suggested those were signs of someone who was feeling “defensive.”
Honigman told Express: “The positioning of Harry across from Hoda is incredibly telling — they’re sitting in identical chairs, and the chairs do not look comfortable, but Hoda does! Look at her, legs elegantly crossed, leaning back, hands gently draped over one another, a legendary disarming smile on her face, engaged and charming. Harry is as uncomfortable as the chair he’s sitting in, stiff and distracted.”
According to the expert, “Most fascinating of all, when he attempts to say ‘Home for me now … is the States,’ it comes out as the longest sentence in history. He’s looking from side to side, he’s shrugging, he’s repeating words, he’s pausing multiple times. The full transcript of this single, simple sentence is: ‘D’ya know. Home … home for me now … is … is … is … for the time being … it’s … it’s in the … it’s in the States.’”
As for the gesture of Harry rubbing his hand down his leg that Mahler pointed out, Honigman opined: “Perhaps [he did it] to ease uncomfortable sweaty palms.”
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
