The Time Meghan Markle Copied Kate Middleton’s Subtle ‘Barrier’ Move While out With Prince Harry
Meghan Markle took a move out of Kate Middleton’s playbook back in 2018 after she officially became part of the royal family. According to a body language expert, it involved a clutch bag and one of the former Suits star’s first appearances as the Duchess of Sussex.
Meghan carried her clutch ‘just below her waist’ in what looked like a potentially ‘strategic’ move borrowed from Kate
Examining one of Meghan’s earliest official engagements following her and Prince Harry’s 2018 royal wedding, body language expert Judi James took a closer look at the now-42-year-old’s movements at the now-King Charles III’s 70th Birthday Patronage Celebration. It took place on May 22, 2018, at Buckingham Palace merely four days after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s nuptials.
According to James, Meghan exuded “grown-up elegance.” However, how she held her bag that proved particularly telling.
“There’s an air of grown-up elegance and glamour about Meghan’s Audrey Hepburn-chic outfit,” James said at the time (via The Mirror). “And although she’s teamed it with some perfectly poised and rather high-status body language as she walks with Harry, it’s also great to see the more accessible, down-to-earth-giggly and undeniably happy version of the new HRH is still very much on display too.”
“The clutch bag is a favourite of Kate Middleton’s, and like Kate, she is now carrying it as a small body barrier just below her waist,” James continued. The “positioning,” she explained, could’ve been “strategic” as “one annoying and embarrassing trait once you marry is that everyone starts asking when you’re going to have a baby, and attention does start to focus on the tummy area.
Meghan held her clutch ‘higher’ in a mock-defensive gesture’ in 2018
Examining Meghan’s demeanor at a different moment during the 2018 event, James noticed Meghan, still with her clutch in hand, looking more casual.
Meghan, she said, looked like a “less formal and more giggly version,” painting her as a “radiant and super-happy new royal bride.”
Body language like this creates a strong tie-sign of direct communication with the public,” James explained before noting Meghan lifted her clutch higher. In doing so, the now-mother of two did what the expert called a “cutely mock-defensive gesture.” She also appeared to “self-diminish” bringing her arms toward her torso to convey “lowered status and raised happiness.”
While she may have did the same “barrier” move as Kate with her clutch, Meghan’s facial expression looked like all happiness. “Her facial expression registers over-spilling delight,” James said. “So much so that she brings one hand up close to her face in a cut-off ‘hiding’ gesture as though made shy by the strength of her own emotions.”
Meghan Markle’s ‘demure pose’ with her clutch saw Prince Harry become the ‘alpha’
As for Harry, who attended the event alongside his father, stepmother, and wife, he stepped into the role of “alpha,” James said.
Meghan’s “more demure pose here puts Harry back into the same alpha role that we saw when he danced around his new bride to usher her into the E-type after the wedding ceremony,” the expert explained, referring to their wedding reception.
“Having recovered from his wedding day jitters, he looks relaxed and happy striding slightly in front of Meghan with his splayed torso and top hat in one hand,” she concluded.
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
