Prince Harry’s Final Appearance With Queen Elizabeth Was Tense and He Was ‘Concerned,’ According to Expert
It hasn’t been an easy ride for Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, but they are on their way to living out of the spotlight as they requested so they can ease the worry about a safe life for their son Archie. When the couple made their final appearance at the Commonwealth Day service, however, one royal expert believes that Prince Harry appeared to be tense and concerned.
The Sussexes announced their exit
In January 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan announced their surprising plan to take a step back from their royal duties and attempt to have some normalcy. Queen Elizabeth met with Prince Harry, Prince William, and Prince Charles to sort out the details, releasing a statement in support of their decision.
She noted at the time, “Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family. I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life.”
The Sussexes had to make sacrifices for their new life, however, giving up their HRH titles and any public funding in order to make their exit. Prince Harry shared in a speech that the decision was not made lightly and that he and Meghan felt they had no other choice in the matter.
Prince Harry and Meghan attended their final engagements
Before they officially part ways with the royal family on March 31, Prince Harry and Meghan had a number of final engagements to wrap up. Their last appearance was at the Commonwealth Day service, where all eyes were on the couple.
Many royal fans took note of the limited interaction that Prince Harry and Meghan had with Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge as the former Fab Four scarcely acknowledged one another.
Meghan and Harry gave Willam and Kate a greeting and a wave and got little in return, perhaps supporting all of the rumors that they don’t get along anymore or possibly the result of not being seated together.
Prince Harry seemed tense and concerned at the service, according to one expert
Was Prince Harry tense at the service? “The Queen is looking down and not looking at them, and Meghan is smiling,” Patti Wood, body language expert and author of Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma told Marie Claire.
She added, “I would say that’s fairly genuine because it’s made along with eye contact. If you look at her hand, she’s holding on to the paper, but you notice how relaxed her fingers are and how open the fingers are. She’s not tensely holding the paper. It’s very relaxed. That says that she’s fine. She’s okay. It’s all good.”
Though the queen’s body language reveals that she’s relaxed, Wood notes that that’s not the case for Prince Harry, who appeared to be more tense at the event.
“But when you go to him, if you look, his head is downcast, and he’s trying,” Wood shared. “He’s looking at his grandma. If you look at the eyebrows in that photo, it’s concerned.”
She added, “It’s more you wouldn’t know he’s the grandson in that photo — you would think he was some sort of subservient in a greater way. It shows a change in his status, his feelings. It’s not negative. It’s just revealing.”
