Prince William’s Ascot PDA ‘is not an attempt to mirror Meghan Markle and Harry’ – expert
Prince William packed on the PDA at Royal Ascot, but there was a clear difference between his affectionate acts and those of the Sussexes, a body language expert says
Prince William and Prince Harry express public affection in different ways, a body language expert tells the Mirror.
The Prince of Wales attended Royal Ascot alongside his close relatives on Wednesday and was spotted enjoying a ‘warm’ relationship with his stepmother Queen Camilla, embracing a special bond with his cousin Zara Tindall and making Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice laugh with his playful antics.
The unusual PDA painted the Royal Family in a newfound light, as the Firm is known for expressing formal body language and avoiding public embrace. Judi James noticed a difference in their PDA compared to Harry and Meghan Markle, who have always been far more comfortable with affection in public.
William was spotted being playful and open with members of his close family at Ascot ( Image: Getty Images)
Judi said it was ‘authentic’ and different to Harry and Meghan’s ‘tactile’ body language ( Image: WireImage)
She explained that William only appeared relaxed and touchy-feely around his extended family, whereas Harry has always been more affectionate with his wife and strangers. Judi explained: “These rituals have nothing to do with any mirroring of Harry and Meghan’s brand of tactile body language.“Theirs is only shown between each other or to register support for strangers on their ‘royal’ visits. William’s rituals here are for extended family, which is a different level of bonding altogether.”
Judi noted that the royal cousins packed on the PDA at Ascot following a difficult few months for William, with his wife Princess Kate and father King Charles both being diagnosed with cancer. She said the illnesses seem to have “produced a desire to not just reconvene, but to reaffirm those bonds publicly”.
She explained: “They are congruent and authentic bonding rituals, too, not the kind of show-pony behaviours we get treated to when warring royals are told to play together nicely. These look like an authentic coming together and rounding up of the wagons in the face of recent anxieties.”
It comes as the Queen’s youngest son Prince Edward and wife Sophie gave their take on Harry’s bomshell Oprah Winfrey interview. The Hindustan Times reports that when Prince Edward was asked what he thought of it, he replied: “Oprah, who?” His wife laughed: “What interview?”
This is not a first for Harry, who has previously opened up about how he faced the wrath of friends and family after talking to Oprah. He revealed in his memoir Spare that his favourite former nanny Tiggy Pettifer even grilled him over the TV show. He wrote: “I told them that I failed to see how speaking to Oprah was any different from what my family and their staffs, had done for decades – briefing the press on the sly, planting stories.”
He added: “Several close mates and beloved figures in my life, including one of Hugh and Emilie’s sons, Emilie herself, and even Tiggy, had chastised me for Oprah, How could you reveal such things? About your family?” Harry said he reckoned it was no different from his father’s authorised biography written by journalist Jonathan Dimbleby in 1994.
