Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle lost a few allies in the royal family when they decided to step down from their roles in 2020. It can be difficult for royal watchers to pinpoint where some of Harry’s relatives stand and if they are completely done with the Sussexes. But a body language expert has said that Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh (formerly the Countess of Wessex) has shown signs on more than one occasion of exactly how she feels.
Sophie would not interact with Harry and Meghan during their final royal engagement
Body language expert Judi James analyzed photos and video of the last few times Sophie was around Meghan and Harry and shared what she observed.
She pointed out how Sophie looked like she wanted nothing to do with the pair during their final royal engagement in March 2020. The only interaction fans spotted that day was what became known as Sophie’s “death stare” which made the rounds on social media.
“During the hugely awkward and painful Commonwealth Service that was Harry and Meghan’s last public appearance before they quit the U.K., Edward and Sophie seemed to have been enlisted to act as ice-breakers and air-bags between the Sussexes and the Cambridges,” James told Express. “But that was before the Oprah interview and Harry’s book Spare wreaked their damage. This cold stare or glower might possibly have preceded a warm social smile of greeting from Sophie but, even if it did, there’s a stronger possibility that she was letting her authentic feelings be known first.”
The Duchess of Edinburgh let her real feelings for Harry be known at another event
After the Sussexes’ bombshell interview with Oprah, James noted that the Duchess of Edinburgh kept away from Harry and didn’t even acknowledge him at Prince Philip’s funeral.
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James explained: “Along with her normal role as peace-maker and calm-keeper in the Firm, Sophie has always seemed to be a fiercely loyal royal who was utterly devastated at the deaths of Prince Philip and the queen. It could have been that loyalty that appeared to produce at least two body language moments that would quite openly suggest her real feelings for Harry.”
James recalled that following Prince Philip’s funeral “Harry was walking out of the service alone and had to pass Sophie and her daughter on the way out. It was hard not to feel some sympathy for Harry, who was also about to have the famous awkward chat with his brother William that Kate very carefully choreographed. It might have been expected that Sophie would, like Kate, take some steps to break the ice, but she didn’t appear to acknowledge Harry at all.”
Sophie’s body language showed she is still not ‘Team Sussex’
Then there was the National Service of Thanksgiving for Queen Elizabeth II’s reign when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in town for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Inside St. Paul’s Cathedral Sophie didn’t hold back how she felt as her face said it all when Meghan and Harry showed up.
“It was hugely atmospheric and no one could have been unaware they had arrived to take their place in the pews, especially as Harry stopped to chat to Beatrice and Eugenie,” James said. “Edward had turned with an expression of recognition and a smile of what looked like affection and welcome on his face. Sophie had part-turned, but with a very different facial expression. There was no trace of a smile and her eye expression looked as though it could have wilted flowers at fifty paces.”
James concluded: “With Harry’s exit and his constant revelations from the U.S., Sophie does seem by her body language to have very much picked her side and it is not Team Sussex.”
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
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