Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Looked Like They Were ‘Celebrating Return to Happiness’ in 2021 Christmas Card After ‘Rifts and Misery’

The holiday season is here. For royal watchers, that means more than Christmas at Sandringham. It also means Christmas cards. Despite leaving their roles as working royals in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have continued sharing annual Christmas cards. Ahead, see what a body language expert had to say about their 2021 Christmas card with their kids. 

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle offered a rare glimpse of Archie and Lili in their 2021 Christmas card

2021 marked the public’s first glimpse of Harry and Meghan as a family of four. Not to mention the first image of their daughter, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, whom they welcomed in June of that year. 

The pair selected a photo of them and their two children, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, 3, and Lili, 1. In the photo taken by Alexi Lubomirski at their home in Montecito, California, Harry and Meghan smile and laugh with Archie and Lili. 

“This year, 2021, we welcomed our daughter, Lilibet, to the world. Archie made us a ‘Mama’ and a ‘Papa’ and Lili made us a family,” they said in an accompanying message.

“As we look forward to 2022, we have made donations on your behalf to several organizations that honor and protect families – from those being relocated from Afghanistan to American families in need of parental leave,” they concluded.

So what did a body language expert have to say about Harry and Meghan’s 2021 Christmas card? 

“This looks like a celebration of a return to the happiness Harry and Meghan shared before all the rifts and the misery,” expert Judi James said (via Express). “As though, having created their own beautiful family of four, they can go full circle back to the days when Meghan first appeared in public with Harry at the Invictus Games.”

Harry and Meghan’s 2021 Christmas card had a ‘celebrity look’ but also ‘joy and shared affection’ with Archie and Lili, body language expert says

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s 2021 Christmas card combined what James described as a “celebrity look” with a peek “into their life.” 

“With little Lilibet being held aloft to dominate this very loving family pose, Harry and Meghan continue their preferred theme of allowing us to glimpse or look into their life and their happy moments,” the expert said. 

James noted the more relaxed, behind-the-scenes feel of the photo contrasted “posing looking straight into the camera to ‘speak’ to us as many more formal card poses tend to do.”

Overall, “it creates a celebrity look but it’s undeniably full of genuine joy and shared affection,” she said. “And we’re shown a very tight family unit that wants to be seen celebrating a sense of freedom and mutual, balanced happiness.”

Harry, Meghan, Archie, and Lili have ‘congruent-looking smiles’ in their 2021 Christmas card

James also pointed out the similarities between Harry and Meghan’s facial expressions and that of their kids. “All four wear congruent-looking smiles that have broken out into shared laughter,” she said. 

Meanwhile, the family of four are all touching, seemingly adding to the “family unit” message.

“Harry has one protective arm around his small son while he grins up at his baby daughter with a look of adoration,” James observed. And “Lilibet returns her mother’s smile, while Meghan’s head tilts back to rest on Harry’s chest.”

Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.