Prince Harry Showed 1 ‘Very Unusual’ Gesture During Recent Interview, Body Language Expert Says
An expert analyzed Prince Harry’s body language during a recent 60 Minutes interview when he was promoting his memoir Spare. The body language expert noticed signs of unhappiness and pointed out a “very unusual” gesture that indicated anxiety.
Prince Harry’s breathing was revealing, body language expert says
Body language expert Louise Mahler shared her analysis of Prince Harry’s gestures and expressions during the interview, telling Sunrise the moments she noticed when he looked unhappy.
“First of all, his breathing. At times, he actually rocked, like this,” she said as she motioned forward and backward. “That’s what people do when their diaphragm is jammed and they’ve stopped breathing altogether.”
The expert continued, “This is not a sign of happiness. In fact, happiness is a bouncing diaphragm, so it’s definitely not stiff. Laughing is a bouncing diaphragm.”
Mahler looked closely at Harry’s breathing when his answers were choppy. “Then he clearly breaks his sentences in the middle of the sentence, which shows again that the air is not flowing in his body,” she explained.
Prince Harry displayed 1 ‘unusual’ gesture during the interview, expert explains
The body language expert pointed out that Harry displayed a “sealed mouth” during the interview. She demonstrated how “his bottom teeth are coming, meeting his front teeth, the lower jaw is sticking out constantly — and what we’re getting then is an ‘s’ that sort of attacks very aggressively every time he says an ‘s,'” Mahler said.
The expert moved on to an “unusual” gesture during the interview, as Harry stuck his tongue out. “He then, with his mouth closed, is sticking his tongue out,” she explained.
“Now sticking your tongue out if your mouth is open is a sexual gesture, however, if your mouth is closed — and at times, it comes right out of his mouth … But it’s anxiety is what it is,” she noted. “It’s a very unusual thing for someone to do.”
Mahler also noticed that the left side of Harry’s mouth went up at times, “which is a sign of contempt and he does that quite often when he mentions William,” she said.
Harry didn’t smile during hte interview, thought Mahler pointed out “a couple of little bursts of sarcastic laugh.” She added, “His head is stiff. This is defensiveness. When we get defensive, we jam our neck and it stiffens the head and his head is stiff. This is the incongruence that, for me, says sadness.”
Body language expert looks at Harry recalling his fight with William
Mahler also called out the way Prince Harry spoke about the fight with William that left Harry’s back cut by a dog bowl when he fell.
“This is ridiculous dramatization of a situation,” Mahler said. She said it was more likely that Harry lost his balance rather than William being aggressive. “It just was a bit off balance,” she said.
Harry told Anderson Cooper during the interview, “[William] knocked me over. I landed on the dog bowl. I cut my back. I didn’t know about it at the time but he apologized afterwards. It was a pretty nasty experience.”
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
