Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped down from their roles within the royal family in 2020. But their body language when they were working members of the Firm is still talked about and dissected today by royal watchers.
Now a video that has been circulating online from when the pair attended function weeks before their wedding has an expert breaking down what Meghan did that turned Harry’s demeanor from “leader” to “submissive.”
Resurfaced video shows Prince Harry and Meghan at Woman’s Empowerment reception
Footage of Prince Harry and Meghan attending the Women’s Empowerment reception resurfaced online recently. The event took place during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at the Royal Aeronautical Society on April 19, 2018, in London, England.
Women’s Empowerment is something Meghan had championed for years and prior to the event she spoke about giving a spotlight to female empowerment organizations.
She said: “I hear a lot of people speaking about girls’ empowerment and women’s empowerment, you’ll often hear people say well, ‘you’re helping women find their voices.’ And I fundamentally disagree with that because women don’t need to find their voices, they have a voice. They need to be empowered to use it, and people need to be encouraged to listen.”
Expert says Harry ‘adopted submissive body language’ after Meghan interrupted him
Body language expert Judi James analyzed the footage from that day and observed “a shift in power dynamics” as Harry was “leading” Meghan but became “submissive” when she interrupted him.
James told Express: “There’s an interesting dynamic here as Harry and Meghan attend a Women’s Empowerment forum. Meghan is clearly taking her lead from Harry initially as a royal and even asks if she should shake hands as well as pausing to allow him to walk into the room first.
“But once she is launched we can see the very confident version of Meghan emerge, while Harry adopts a more tentative and submissive pose beside her. Meghan seems to be keen to learn the royal ropes here but it is clearly her event, as a champion of women’s empowerment.”
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The expert added: “A few checks with Harry is all it takes before she can move in and engage in some confident and focused-looking conversations about a cause that is close to her heart. While Harry moves back and lowers his signals of power and status, adopting some body language rituals that look more submissive than dominant, wiping his mustache with one finger and clasping his hands in front of his torso to signal that Meghan is the expert on women’s issues.”
Royal fans weigh in on the footage
A number of royal fans weighed in on the moment as well but were split on whether Meghan should have interrupted Harry. Some praised how the duchess conducted herself during the reception, opining that she showed she was “a natural” and could certainly “hold her own.” However, others agreed with the assessment of how Harry became submissive when Meghan moved in to shake hands while he was still talking.
“Harry was speaking to a person and Meghan just couldn’t wait for them to finish so she barged in between them so she could talk to someone else leaving Harry basically talking to air,” one commenter wrote.
Another posted: “Poor Harry, she just elbowed him out of the way and he stands there looking helpless. She completely put him off his stride.”
And a third said: “So rude of her, cutting off Prince Harry’s conversation with the group of gentlemen. Putting herself in the center seeking all the attention.”
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
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