Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Avoided ‘Overkill Signals’ in Archewell Video yet Still Displayed ‘Intimacy,’ Body Language Expert Says
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are back in front of the camera. Not in another Netflix docuseries but an Archewell charity video. The pair appeared in an August 2023 clip congratulating award recipients. Despite talk of a split and different career paths, the pair didn’t go “overkill” to show they’re “in love,” a body language expert says.
A ‘couple smiling furiously together’ appeared to be the ‘enduring message’ of Harry and Meghan’s Archewell video
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had a “challenging” task ahead of them as they were filmed calling winners of The Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund. The video, posted to Harry and Meghan’s Archewell charity website on August 2, 2023, showed the pair sitting on a bench offering their congratulations.
According to body language expert Judi James, recent divorce rumors meant Harry and Meghan were under more scrutiny than usual. “‘Denial’ appearances are always challenging, even for a couple blissfully in love like Harry and Meghan,” James said (via Woman & Home). “Most celebrity couples find themselves the subject of gossip and rumour [sic] though and these two seem to be no different.”
“They haven’t appeared together in public for a while,” she continued, “meaning fans have missed out on their signature body language rituals and signals of romance, making this brief video the subject of even more scrutiny than usual.”
“Overall the enduring message is of a couple smiling furiously together, displaying facial expressions of pride, excitement, and encouragement as they listen to their young leaders tell their stories,” James said, citing Harry’s “expression of concern” during talk of mental health.
Harry and Meghan appeared to be ‘working together as a team’ in the Archewell video
While calling winners in the Archewell video, Harry and Meghan gave off a “sense” of “working together as a team,” according to James.
Meghan, she said, began the “convos with Harry sitting with his arms between his legs” while the 42-year-old held the phone. After a roles “swap,” Harry sat “splayed, with one elbow stuck out in an expression of confidence and encouragement, holding the phone up near his face as he speaks to the caller.”
James also observed the lush, green surroundings as Harry and Meghan sat on a bench together proved to be a familiar backdrop.
“The setting is very on-brand for the couple, with an idyllic and rather casual garden stretching out behind them,” she said. However, the Archewell video didn’t appear identical to, say, their 2021 Oprah interview or Time 100 clip on voting.
“The pose itself,” James continued, “is different. Because they are sharing the phone they sit angled inward towards each other, rather than side by side as usual during an interview.”
Harry and Meghan displayed ‘intimacy’ without ‘empathic touch and eye contact’ while congratulating award winners
James continued, saying Harry and Meghan’s pose wasn’t the only switch from their usual on-camera body language.
“The other difference in these short clips is a lack of emphatic touch and eye contact,” she said, noting their “close proximity shows intimacy, though.”
“Harry does appear to look across at Meghan’s face a couple of times but when we see her she’s not doing her usual face-gazing and supportive, adoring glances,” James observed. “One reason for this is that they are emotionally focused on the young people on the phone and so may be keen to avoid taking the spotlight off them.”
Rather, the duke and duchess “probably did use many non-verbal tie signs but might have chosen to look more like proud parents here than smitten marrieds.”
“They might also have preferred to steer away from dignifying any rumours [sic] by using overkill signals for the camera,” the expert added. “When you know you’re in love, there’s usually no need to prove it. So the emphatic messages of happiness and teamwork are probably more than enough for one brief video,” James concluded.
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
