Prince Harry and Meghan are used to receiving royal treatment at events.
So when they turned up at the Bob Marley: One Love biopic premiere and were given seats three rows from the front of the theatre, they could hardly conceal their shock.
During the glitzy event at the Carib Theatre, the couple chatted with anti-monarchist Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness.
Analysing photos from last January’s event, body language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail: ‘Meghan seemed to treat this red carpet appearance as a full-blown Hollywood one.
‘She looked regal and gracious in her elegant ballgown and pulled the kind of moves A-list celebrity couples perform, like the romantic gesture of ownership as she places a hand on Harry’s chest.
‘Meghan was fully in charge of the steering on the night, gently nudging Harry around and at one point pulling his hand out of his trouser pocket so that she could hold hands with him to walk into the venue.
‘Harry was showing body language signs of anxiety as they posed for their red carpet photos, but these increased and peaked once the couple were inside the venue and being ushered to their seats.
‘While the VIPs were said to be in the front row of the stalls, Meghan was being ushered into her seat three rows back.
Prince Harry and Meghan attended the glitzy premiere of the Bob Marley: One Love biopic at the Carib Theatre last January
The couple were given seats three rows from the front of the theatre, much to their surprise
Body language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail that Harry’s expression showed he was nervous
‘While her smile suggests her expression of utter graciousness was unflinching, Harry clearly hangs back, performing several gestures of reluctance, discomfort and even indecision.’
The pair’s appearance at the event was controversial due to Harry and Meghan posing with Mr Holness and his wife Juliet.
Lip reader Jeremy Freeman previously spoke to Femail about what Harry and Meghan said to the Jamaican premier about the film.
‘It’s amazing,’ Meghan gushed in a brief clip, which was shared to the Mr Holness’s Instagram story.
Harry appeared to compliment the ‘good job’ that was done on the film, Mr Freeman said.
‘Nice to… pleased to meet you,’ he added.
Elsewhere, the lip reader said Andrew had asked Meghan ‘what she thought of it’.
‘Yes, it was perfect,’ she said.
Harry chats to anti-monarchist Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness and his wife, Juliet
Judi James told the Daily Mail: ‘Meghan seemed to treat this red carpet appearance as a full-blown Hollywood one’
‘Meghan was fully in charge of the steering on the night,’ wrote Judi
Meghan then pointed to her husband and added: ‘Yes, I’m sure he’ll tell you. It’s perfect.’
The Sussexes also turned heads as they posed for photos and shook hands with actors at the event.
They posed with the president and chief executive of Paramount Pictures, Brian Robbins, and his wife, Tracy James.
Judi James said: ‘For Harry, public functions in the Royal Family have always meant top billing, the best seats in the house and preferential treatment.
‘But here there is a more unilateral look, where they were expected to take their own seats and maybe even buy their own popcorn.
‘Harry’s lack of experience in this kind of scenario seems to show through here.
‘As he walks into the cinema, he hikes his trousers by the belt in a very un-royal gesture, suggesting he is trying to trigger his “people’s prince” persona.
‘But as Meghan takes her seat, his anxiety rituals increase as he hangs back, watching with what looks like concern.
The body language expert said: ‘Harry’s lack of experience of this kind of scenario seems to show through here’
The pair’s appearance at the biopic was controversial due to them posing with Mr Holness (centre) and his wife, Juliet (second right) at the premiere
‘He rubs his mouth in a gesture that suggests a desire to speak but a reluctance to say the wrong thing.
‘The rubbing hand moves to the underneath of his chin, in a self-comfort ritual associated with evaluation and indecision.
‘In a royal role, gestures like this would alert royal staff that all is not well, but here Harry is just being ushered into his seat next to Meghan.
‘As he joins her in the stalls he has one hand in his trouser pocket, suggesting he’s dithering rather than just taking his seat.
‘His lips are sucked in, adding to the air of indecision or regret.
‘Meghan seems to point or beckon to someone behind and it looks clear that there is some kind of a delay to clarify arrangements here.’
It’s not the only time Harry and Meghan have been accused of acting like celebrities.
At the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf in September 2023, Ms James said the pair presented themselves as a ‘celebrity power couple’ during a rock star welcome.
Later that year, the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden wrote in his column that Meghan looked more like a Hollywood ‘wannabe’ than a member of the Royal Family.
Meghan and Harry shake hands with the Jamaican premier and his wife at the event
The pair with the head of Paramount Pictures, Brian Robbins, and his wife, Tracy James
Ms James’s comments bring to mind the advice Harry’s grandfather, Prince Philip, reportedly once gave to Kate.
He was quoted by Gyles Brandreth as telling the Princess of Wales: ‘If you believe the attention is for you personally, you’re going to end up in trouble.’
The Duke of Edinburgh believed that the Queen’s success was down to her belief that the attention is for the role, what the Royal Family does and what they support.
He added: ‘It isn’t for you as an individual. You are not a celebrity. You are representing the Royal Family. That’s all.’
While Kate emulated the example set by the Queen, it is not a sentiment Harry or Meghan appear to share.
And this shows in the opinion polls. In March, the latest YouGov poll found Meghan’s popularity in Britain has hit a record low after her favourability rating dropped to just 20 per cent – meaning only Prince Andrew is more disliked than her.
As for Harry, only 27 per cent of UK adults now have a positive opinion of him. And in a recent poll by the Daily Mail, 92 per cent of royal channel readers said they did not think he should return to the UK.
A graphic showing the Royal Family’s popularity in the YouGov opinion polls
This comes as the Sussexes’ £73million, five-year Netflix contract comes to an end in September and the second series of With Love, Meghan is due for release this autumn.
As reports of peace talks made recent headlines, many royal observers hope that this could be a sign of reconciliation between the Sussexes and the Royal Family.
But others believe the couple no longer have a place in the royal household after trading their roles for money-making endeavours.
What remains clear is that if Harry and Meghan ever did return as senior working royals, they would likely have to re-evaluate their relationship with their own popularity.
