The British people are famous for revealing very little of their thoughts and emotions, hence the “stiff upper lip” reputation. And nobody has a stiffer upper lip than the Royal Family. Generally, we don’t know what royals are thinking or feeling, and what they have to say to the public is often a carefully-crafted PR message.
But what if there was a way to know what some of the most famous royals were really thinking and feeling? Over the years, body language experts have analyzed footage from the Royal Family, and they’ve come to some downright shocking conclusions.
Wondering what the Royal Family is really like? Keep reading to discover the revelations of the world’s top body language experts!
Meghan and Harry
Over the years, there have been many breathless articles about whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are truly happy. And many more articles claiming Meghan is a gold-digger taking things all the way. But according to one body language expert, these two are very seriously into each other!
The Daily Mail reports that Elizabeth Kuhnke, who wrote Body Language: Learn How To Read Others And Communicate With Confidence, analyzed this controversial royal couple. A big part of her analysis was looking at Meghan’s body language around Harry compared to her body language around Trevor Engelson, her first husband.
She found that in Meghan’s first marriage, the couple “weren’t emotionally in tune. Trevor seemed to have been more in love with Meghan than she with him.” As for her marriage to Harry, “Meghan appears happier and freer with Harry than she was with Trevor. They present a unified front, posing as one, reflecting and matching each other’s facial expressions , movements and gestures. This behavior indicates they are on the same page and that their relationship is harmonious.”
According to her, Harry and Meghan’s intimacy isn’t anything they are faking. “When they smile at one another, they hold eye contact, their cheeks are raised and their eyes crinkle around the outer sides, indicating genuine warmth and happiness between the two. Even when they are not touching, their physical proximity and welcoming, open body language shows their closeness.”
RELATED: 6 Reasons To Worry About Harry & Meghan’s Marriage
Harry and William
For years, there have been headlines about the deteriorating relationship between Prince William and Prince Harry. Most of the time, though, we can only guess at how Prince William actually feels. As befits the future King of England, William has mastered keeping his thoughts and opinions to himself.
However, William’s body language speaks volumes about how he perceives Harry. Cheat Sheet reports that body language expert Judi James analyzed how both William’s and Harry’s body language towards each other changed over time. “The brothers, who could not be in any form of proximity together without grinning and laughing and winding each other up, began to perform rituals of avoidance in public that looked toe-curlingly awkward,” she said.
She noted that each now bears “expressions made of stone” toward each other. Harry, she says, has a “haunted eye expression” when he looks at his brother. As for William, she says he “often adopts the pose and expressions of sadness you might expect of a funeral director.”
William and Kate
We know that Harry and Meghan are head-over-heels in love with each other. But how do Prince William and Kate Middleton feel about each other? Reader’s Digest reports that Patti Wood, author of SNAP: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language & Charisma, took a close analysis of William and Kate’s body language across a series of different photographs.
Looking at a photo of the couple from St. Andrew’s University graduation, Wood said, “What I love about them in this photo is how spontaneous and unposed they are.” Furthermore, “There’s so much joy, energy, and movement in this photo. She’s leaning her body into his, and he’s responding by creating a heart shape with his body and hers. I also love the intimacy of her hand on his belly and how he gently places his hand on her to show connection.”
From a photo when the two got engaged, Wood noted “I love how he tilts his upper body into her in the official photo. Even in such a formal, posed photo, it shows he’s willing to lean into her,” and she points out that their toothy grins indicate their passion for each other.
And in some ways, their passion comes out most at certain public events. For example, at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Wood analyzed a photo of the two joyfully embracing each other. “Look how they’re all wrapped up in each other,” she said. “Once again, their bodies are forming a perfect heart shape.” Amusingly, she noted that if she didn’t already know who these two are, the photo would make her think these were two high schoolers at a homecoming game who are quite “hot for each other.”
RELATED: How Prince William & Kate Middleton’s Marriage Has Evolved After 10 Years
Charles and Diana
Patti Wood didn’t stop at analyzing William and Kate. She also lent her body language expertise to Reader’s Digest to analyze how Charles and Diana really felt about each other across a series of different photos.
When analyzing an informal photo of Charles and Diana after they got engaged, Wood pointed out that Charles hid one hand inside a jacket even as Diana pressed her hand through the crook of his arm. “It’s an early and subtle warning sign of Charles’ lack of commitment,” Wood said. “He’s attempting to make the connection less intimate.”
Wood also analyzed the famous kiss at their wedding on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. “See how she’s doing all the work?” Wood asks, noting that Diana is “bending over backward” while Charles seems much more passive and hesitant.
Arguably, you don’t need to be a body language expert to read the writing on the wall of the photo taken shortly after Charles and Diana announced their separation. Still, Wood notes how “His shoulder turned away, his mouth tightly sealed… as if Charles was forced by his mom to take this girl he doesn’t like to the school dance.” Meanwhile, Diana sitting with her legs closed is a not-so-subtle sign that “sexual intimacy is off the table and out of the question.”
Charles and Camilla
It’s an open secret that what drove Charles and Diana apart was the other woman: Camilla Parker-Bowles. Accordingly, The List reports that body language expert Inbaal Honigman analyzed the body language differences between Charles and Camilla and Charles and Diana.
When it comes to Charles and Camilla, Honigman notes that “The pair are often observed with their arms interlocking, looking each other in the eye, smiling full into each other’s faces, and generally seeking each other’s closeness, that the collective consciousness sees him as this guy.” With her, Charles presents as “The warm, tactile, even romantic husband who is devoted to the lady beside him.”
As for Charles and Diana, Honigman’s analysis mirrors that of Wood. “Official images and some personal press shots from the early years of the young couple’s married life, show a blushing Diana and an often discontent Charles in absolute disarray towards one another,” Honigman claims. “There’s always a good few feet of social distancing between them, and they rarely face the same way. … But even on the occasions when they’re not searching for something to look at on opposite ends of the room, they are not in harmony – if they both look ahead, it’s never in the same direction. … They both look like they wished they were elsewhere, with somebody else.”
RELATED: Camilla Parker Bowles’ Most Awkward Moments Caught On Camera
Prince Andrew
When the scandals began erupting regarding Prince Andrew, many wondered how nobody saw this coming. But according to one body language expert, the clues were right in front of us from the beginning!
Sophie Zadeh has analyzed the body language of the rich and famous many times before. Interestingly, she let her husband, Lee, take a crack at analyzing Andrew. And what he found was downright shocking.
Lee focused his analysis on Andrew’s disastrous interview with BBC News. Throughout the interview, Lee noted persistent eyelid flutter, which often indicates major stress and high emotions. Andrew also often exhibited an eye block (kind of like an extended blink), as if he was being confronted with something he hated and, child-like, wanted to cover his eyes in the hopes it would go away.
Andrew also exhibited incongruent headshakes that sometimes revealed hidden emotions. When Andrew said he was happy when he got married, the headshake indicated this may not be the truth.
When asked about why he visited the mansion of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew’s tongue juts out in stress and his head moved in a way indicating his extreme discomfort. Of course, by this point in the interview, Andrew’s own words were damaging him even more than his body language ever could!