Royal Christmas Card Has Hidden Message Showing Who the Central Figure of the Wales Family Is Now (and It’s Not Kate)
With the holiday season upon us, Prince William and the Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton) have released their annual family Christmas card. The image is a black-and-white photo showing William with his wife and their three children. The couple is standing side-by-side with Prince George and Prince Louis next to them, while Princess Charlotte is seated in the middle of her brothers.
A body language expert has analyzed the photo and says the card reveals a hidden message about a major change for the family of five.
The signal the card sends about the Wales family as a whole
Body language and behavioral expert Judi James said that the family’s poses and body language in the card appear to signal a message they want to get across.
She noted that it shows “that they are a very cool and a very unbreachable family unit.”
“The strong sense of tight, loving ‘uniformed’ grouping and the stark monochrome, plus the relaxed and confident body language looks like the emotional equivalent of them having a moat and drawbridge around them,” James told The Sun. “We’re being shown the strength and total confidence of the pared-down family brand here, without all the trimmings and trappings of their royal status. We know they look superb in formalwear and royal regalia but this is the casual and much more relatable version and if anything it proves they’ve got the charisma with or without the diamonds and medals.”
The expert continued: “The casual jeans and white shirts look effortlessly cool on all of them and the simple ‘uniform’ signals teamwork and group resilience. Within the ‘brand’ though their body language defines them as five individual personalities. Each one of them wears a different smile and their poses hint at a slow but seismic movement in the power balance, just like any other close and loving family when the children start to grow up.”
Expert says the card shows which family member is the central figure now
According to James, Prince William is no longer the central figure of the family; his daughter Princess Charlotte is now.
She explained: “Previous Christmas cards have shown poses that have been built around William. Here though it seems to have been built around Charlotte. Sitting in the middle of the pose while the others stand she looks confident, relaxed, and elegant. If you took the others out of the pose, she would still make a congruent photo.”
James added: “There is also a subtler and more poignant factor about the way the group have gathered around the daughter on a chair. Charlotte looks so much like the late queen and this central status-rich pose and beautiful smile are like echoes of Elizabeth when she was young. This effect doesn’t look deliberate but it is still a rather moving message from this family Christmas card.”
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
