Prince Harry’s Signature Body Language Move a Sign of ‘Confidence’ Instead of Anxiety At Surprise Court Appearance
TL;DR:
- Prince Harry made an unexpected appearance at a court hearing in London, England, on March 27.
- According to a body language expert, Prince Harry entered the courthouse with a “cocky swagger” and a look of “determination” on his face.
- On March 28, Prince Harry returned to the courthouse for the second day of hearings.
Prince Harry made an unexpected appearance at a London court on March 28 and he looked confident doing it. A body language expert says one of the Duke of Sussex’s usual “anxiety rituals” even became a “sign of confidence.”
Prince Harry arrived at a London court on March 27 with a ‘cocky swagger’
Body language expert Judi James examined footage of Harry as he made his way inside London’s Royal Courts of Justice on March 27. The 38-year-old headed for the door and, while navigating a press pack, exuded confidence.
“Striding into court with what looks so much like a cocky swagger, Harry seems to want to give the impression that he’s enjoying himself here,” James said (via The Sun). That is, “right up to the moment when he collides with the photographer.”
“Morning guys, morning,” Harry said to the press before he and a photographer bumped into each other.
The interaction didn’t appear to throw Harry’s confidence. Harry continued to make his way toward the courthouse while also, per James, making a “big display of buttoning his coat.”
“The constant fiddling with buttons are often part of his auto-touch anxiety rituals when he’s under pressure, but this is not the same gesture,” she said. “Rather than nervousness it is another signal of confidence, using the large CEO-style dark overcoat to raise his impression of business-like power to the levels you might see on The Apprentice.”
Harry’s surprise appearance is connected to one of his tabloid lawsuits. The father of two is suing Associated Newspapers Limited, publisher of the U.K. tabloid the Daily Mail. He, along with other celebrities such as Elton John and Elizabeth Hurley, has accused ANL of privacy breaches and illegal information gathering.
Harry’s facial expression hinted at a ‘desire to fight’
The father of two not only carried himself with an air of confidence but his facial expression also suggested the same to James.
“Harry’s lower jaw is jutted out in a signal that suggests determination and a desire to fight,” she said. Meanwhile, his “narrowed eye smile gives the impression he thinks he might win.”
“His breezy ‘Morning!’ to the press looks equally confident,” the expert said, noting the physical contact with the photographer changed the “mood music” just a “little.”
Harry “holds his arm out in surprise and as he gets back into his stride his backward glance suggests some possible irritation,” James said.
Prince Harry returned to court on March 28 for day 2 of the hearing
London’s Royal Courts of Justice got another visit from Harry on March 28. The Duke of Sussex attended the second day of hearings regarding his lawsuit against ANL.
This time, however, Harry changed up his entrance. Instead of entering through the front of the building Harry reportedly used a side door thereby bypassing the press pack he encountered a day earlier (via Newsweek).
Harry’s London visit, his first since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, is a solo one. Meghan Markle’s understood to have stayed behind at their California home with their children, Prince Archie, 3, and Princess Lilibet, 1.
Meanwhile, Harry’s father, King Charles III, nor his brother, Prince William, were said to be in London. Buckingham Palace said the king wasn’t in Windsor or London. As for the Prince of Wales, he’s said to be on a family vacation.
Harry’s legal battles with U.K. tabloids are set to continue with a trial for a separate case in May 2023.
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