Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Break Royal Tradition With Onstage Kiss at Invictus Games, Expert Says
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shared a brief kiss during the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games, a PDA moment that was a break in royal tradition. A body language expert broke down the kiss and explained how Harry appeared to be emotional before delivering his speech.
Meghan Markle gushed about her husband at the Invictus Games opening ceremony
Meghan introduced Prince Harry at the 2022 Invictus Games opening ceremony. “It is my distinguished honor to introduce someone that I think you’ll all be very excited to hear from,” Meghan said. “He has also spent many late nights and early mornings planning these games to make them as perfect as possible for each of you.”
She continued, “I could not love and respect him more and I know that all of you feel the same, because he is your fellow veteran, having served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, and 10 years of military service.”
The Duchess of Sussex added, “He’s the founder of the Invictus Games and the father to our two little ones, Archie and Lili. Please welcome my incredible husband, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex.”
Prince Harry shared a kiss with Meghan when he came onstage. He followed their PDA moment by saying, “Thank you, my love.”
Body language expert analyzes the ‘groundbreaking’ Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss
Body language expert Judi James shared her thoughts with the Mirror, pointing out how the kiss broke royal tradition. “As Meghan and Harry do the hand-over of the mic they also perform a kiss that would have been a given in the political world but which is groundbreaking in royal terms,” James explained. “It is affectionate but swift, with both smiling proudly as they perform it.”
Harry appeared to be very emotional following the kiss and took a moment to gather himself before delivering his speech.
“The problem for Harry is that it appears to knock him sideways emotionally,” the expert said of their kiss. “Watching his wife exit from the stage he stands in overwhelmed-looking silence for 30 seconds as the crowd carries on their applause.”
James added, “The stunned silence is mutually beneficial as crowds only stop clapping when the mic is raised to the mouth and Harry appears too close to tears to do that for the length of the 30 seconds.”
Expert calls Harry’s behavior ‘unusually emotional’
James further pointed out how Prince Harry’s initial emotional reaction wasn’t typical. “This is an unusually emotional display from Harry who has been seen striding out onto global stages with all the cheeky confidence of an MC at a rock conference,” she explained.
“Instead, he turns his reddened face to the side, wiping the side of his nose with his knuckles in what looks like a partial cut-off to shield his facial expression,” James continued.
The body language expert noted how Harry also looked teary-eyed. “His eyes have the saddest expression as his tongue pokes out from the corner of his mouth and he looks down to suggest tearfulness,” she explained.
