Prince Harry’s ‘Severe Side-Eye’ at Prince William During the Coronation Analyzed by Body Language Expert
TL;DR:
- Prince Harry sat in the third row, two behind Prince William, at King Charles’ coronation.
- Harry “almost intentionally” looked at William in what a body language expert called a “telling moment.”
- “The more Harry was telling himself not to look across at his brother, the more he couldn’t stop,” the expert said.
Even though the coronation was about crowning King Charles III, all eyes were on Prince Harry as he reunited with his family. However, according to a body language expert, the Duke of Sussex had some “severe side-eye” for his brother, Prince William.
Prince Harry arrived at Westminster Abbey alone for the coronation
Unlike his last big royal family event, Harry didn’t have Meghan Markle with him at the coronation. The Duchess of Sussex stayed home with their two children, Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 1, for Archie’s birthday.
As a result, Harry found himself walking inside Westminster Abbey alone on May 6. However, he did have other members of the British royal family to keep him company.
Harry spoke with his cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie and their respective husbands, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Jack Brooksbank, prior to the ceremony.
Harry ‘almost unintentionally’ gave Prince William a ‘thunderous look’
Body language expert Judi James spoke to Fabulous about Harry’s movements when he arrived for the ceremony.
“Despite his act of bravado, there were some more telling moments and expressions from Harry, like this pensive one when he seemed to glance across at William,” James said. “William is clearly not about to look back here and Harry’s severe side-eye glance suggests he’s sneaking this thunderous look almost unintentionally.”
“When we tell ourselves not to do something,” she continued, “the brain only tends to hear the suggestion without processing the ‘don’t’ command.” It suggested, “the more Harry was telling himself not to look across at his brother, the more he couldn’t stop.”
Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022 marked the last time William and Harry attended a public event together. (The brothers appeared to only exchange a few words.) Since then, Netflix’s Harry & Meghan debuted as did Harry’s Spare memoir, complete with searing passages about William.
Expert says the duke appeared ‘different,’ ‘cockier’ at the coronation
The coronation brought with it a “different” Harry compared to the one who previously visited the U.K. in March 2023, James said. He didn’t appear to show signs of anxiety. Instead, Harry laughed, joked, and smiled in a display of confidence.
“If we were expecting some signals of anxiety, reflection, or even the look of a penitent, Harry decided to disappoint the critics,” the expert said. “He arrived in the guise of Harry the joker, miming Eugenie’s heavily-pregnant bump to make his cousin and her husband Jack laugh.”
Then Harry fell “back to walk in alone, not in a way that looked solitary or shameful, but with a jaunty stride and beaming grin as he spoke or acknowledged people in the congregation like old friends.”
“It was a very counterintuitive act of body language defiance and resilience and a very different, cockier Harry than we have seen on his most recent visits to the UK,” she explained.
James also noticed Harry “playing the joker” when he took his seat, suggesting he “felt at ease.”
“Cocky Harry again here, yes he straightens his tie but the bobbing around in the seat and wincing is pure joker prince again, suggesting the seats are too hard,” James said. “He’s joking with Eduardo and laughing with someone to his left, rocking from side to side to get maximum sociability.”
Following the two-hour ceremony, Harry boarded a plane to return home to Montecito, California.
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