Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Body Language Showed ‘Possible Conflict of Styles’ During 2018 Event, Expert Says
A body language expert examined a 2018 video of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle where they appeared to show a “possible conflict of styles.” Harry needed to herd Meghan along to meet people at an event because her pacing wasn’t quite the same as his.
Prince Harry tried to get Meghan Markle’s attention at a 2018 engagement
Before Harry and Meghan were married, they attended events together, one of which was an appearance in London with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ahead of the Invictus Games in Sydney.
Meghan was speaking to someone and Harry tried to get her attention to move her along to meet other people.
A video showed Harry calling Meghan, then she noticed him and apologized before moving to shake hands with the people Harry wanted her to meet.
“Meg? Meg, Meg. Let me introduce you to somebody,” Harry said.
Meghan responded, “Oh, sorry,” then moved on to shake hands, saying “Hi there.”
Expert analyzed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s body language during the appearance
Body language expert Judi James analyzed the clip, pointing out to Express how Meghan’s approach was perhaps different from Harry’s during these earlier appearances.
“It’s interesting to see some early signs of a possible conflict of styles here in terms of their approach to royal behavior that Harry and Meghan did later appear to iron out,” James said.
She continued, “Meghan was new to the job but clearly keen to approach it with her signature skills of authentic engagement.”
James noted, “Her chats with people when she was on royal visits and appearances always tended to look more like interested, in-depth discussions than the usual well-timed small-talk, whereas Harry looked more tuned into the time constraints and the signals from whoever’s job it was to usher him around.”
Prince Harry was used to the pace of meet and greets
Meghan, as a newcomer, didn’t have the pacing of these meetings down just yet, where Harry had many years of experience interacting with the public during appearances.
James explained, “For Harry this skill of being shepherded would have been learned from a very early age, like a presenter learns to use autocue, but here we can see Meghan engrossed in conversation and clearly missing the ushering signals behind her.”
The body language expert continued, “Harry looks impatient and the way he leans to call Meghan twice by name with none of the usual social subtlety or etiquette means he interrupts her mid-conversation.”
James noted, “To add to this he also performs an extended hand beckon with the fingers curled to suggest she needs to move quickly.”
The expert looked at Meghan’s reaction once she noticed Harry trying to get her attention. “Meghan’s smile drops and she immediately complies and apologizes verbally in a way that is possibly slightly more submissive than his signals deserve,” she explained.
James added, “She touches Harry in a tie-sign gesture to signal she’s now fully focused on him but his small ushering or truncated pushing hand on her back does appear to lack charm here.”
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
