The Secret Signal King Charles Gives His Staffers When He Wants to Get Out of a Conversation, Revealed by Body Language Expert
Members of the royal family meet and greet a lot of people on a daily basis. But the most senior members of the Firm who are so busy with engagements and visits have to have a way to end conversations when they need to move along.
The late Queen Elizabeth II had a discreet way of doing just that. She used a specific signal which let her aides know she was done talking and to come get her. Now King Charles III is the monarch and he too has a gesture to let staffers know it’s time to rescue him from a conversation. Here’s the secret signal Charles sends when he wants to get out of the conversation as well as what his mother did in those situations.
What King Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth did when she wanted to leave a conversation
Royal historian Hugo Vickers said that Queen Elizabeth would actually use her handbag to send cues to her aides that she was ready to leave a conversation.
Whenever she was speaking to palace guests or members of the public, the queen’s staffers kept a close eye on her movements and were trained to know exactly what each signal means. So if she wanted out of a conversation with someone she would usually move her purse from one hand to the other. Other times though she would be more obvious by placing her handbag on the ground or spinning her wedding ring feverishly till one of her staffers came and ushered her away.
Expert reveals what Charles does when he’s done with a conversation
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 has also analyzed several royal family members including King Charles and revealed what the monarch does that sends a signal to his staffers that he wants he leave a conversation.
Speaking on behalf of Betfair Casino, Stanton explained: “A move Charles tends to make quite a lot is he’ll scratch his nose. Just like the (late) queen had a signal with her assistants that if she had her handbag in her left hand and then switched it to her right that meant ‘Get me out of here!’ — Charles tends to reach for his nose when he is ready to move on from a conversation.”
Gesture the king’s father used to end conversations and keep moving
Charles’ late father, Prince Philip, also had a specific gesture and motion he always used to get out of conversations before they even became too lengthy.
Whenever people would try to engage Philip in a conservation he wanted to keep brief, the prince would do something that was so quick and appeared so natural others hardly picked up on it.
Vickers recalled that Philip used a sweeping motion when he greeted crowds during walkabouts. Queen Elizabeth’s husband would shake a person’s hand, ask a question, and then swing his hand from left to right moving down the line so swiftly that by the time you answered he was well out of earshot.
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