Prince William Was ‘Overwhelmed’ Before Being Ambushed By Protesters in South Africa
Prince William traveled to Cape Town, South Africa recently to celebrate the winners of his environmental Earthshot Prize Awards. On hand to announce and help William recognize each of the 2024 winners were models Heidi Klum and Winnie Harlow, actor Nina Dobrev, musician Tobe Nwigwe, and retired rugby union player Tendai Mtawarira.
During the ceremony, the Prince of Wales took to the stage to deliver an impassioned speech and declared it his mission to support environmental change and encouraged others around the world to join the “movement.” According to an expert, while William was “his charming self on stage” he showed some signs of “uncertainty” and being “overwhelmed.”
Here’s more on that and why the royal was heckled on his last day in the country.
Body language expert says Prince William demonstrated signs of feeling ‘overwhelmed’
Darren Stanton is a body language and behavioral expert with a degree in psychology. He previously worked as a police officer and used his expertise to uncover the truth when interviewing hundreds of suspects. He later moved into media and TV as a consultant and has been dubbed the “Human Lie Detector.”
Stanton analyzed the prince’s speech and shared what he observed in William’s demeanor as he spoke.
Speaking on behalf of Betfair Casino the expert explained: “If you compare William’s speech at last year’s Earthshot ceremony to the most recent, this is clearly a man who has a plethora of responsibilities. He is still his charming self on stage and seems to believe in his inner strength — but at times you can see he has a clenched jaw, and his eyebrows are pulled together.
“During his speech, William’s tone is loud, so verbally, he appears to be his usual confident self. However, his non-verbal behavior suggests a level of uncertainty. His arms are crossed in front of his body, and that can be an unconscious thing we do to protect ourselves when we feel overwhelmed. But he doesn’t seem to be trying to hide these emotions. He showed an authentic approach to this appearance.”
Protesters insist they were not angry with Prince William
Before he boarded his flight and headed back to the U.K., Prince William stopped by Kalk Bay Harbor on his final day in South Africa to meet with fishermen working with 2023 Earthshot finalists Abalobi. Upon his arrival, he was met with loud cheers from the crowd gathered to see him. But a local fisherman and woman who had been excluded from the engagement began heckling the prince yelling: “Go home!”
The crowd assembled then attempted to drown them out by shouting: “You don’t represent South Africa. We are a rainbow nation. We love you William!”
Fisherman Duwayne Baulse protested from his fish stall on the harbor front and explained that they were not angry at Prince William. They were upset they had not been included.
He told Express: “They don’t buy our fish. People only come here when it is sunny. We are here in the rain and storms. They have excluded us. William has not come to look at our fish. No one told us the prince was coming. Afalobi don’t support us. This is our harbor. We are not angry with him (William). We want people to come here more often. Not this setup. It’s like a stage they put on in North Korea.”
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
