Harry hinted at tension with 'cut-off' gesture in chat with Meghan - expert

28 February 2024 , 07:00

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Harry hinted at tension with 'cut-off' gesture in chat with Meghan - expert

Whether it is his bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey or his controversial memoir Spare, Prince Harry has not held back about the rocky bond he has with his royal relatives.

Since he and Meghan sensationally quit as working royals, he's laid bare the fragile relations with both his father King Charles and brother Prince William - even detailing a physical altercation between them in his book. However, when Harry first got engaged to now wife Meghan, nobody really knew the true extent of royal relations. In fact, in the first interview together to mark their engagement, Harry and Meghan spoke warmly about the likes of Charles, William and the now Princess of Wales.

Harry and Meghan during their engagement interview (PA)

However, according to body language expert Judi James, a very telling gesture performed by Harry in that interview in 2017 hinted at tension - years before it would come to the fore. She pinpoints the moment that the interviewer asks about Harry introducing Meghan to his father and his brother.

And she tells the Express : "Harry performs some fast blinks to suggest a burst of adrenaline and then he looks down in a cut-off gesture to conceal his eye expression and therefore – possibly – his true feelings. He then looks to his side as though recalling the moment and his lips clamp rather than move in speech. The 'Ah...' from Harry sounds telling, as though he is debating whether to tell all or not. He performs an asymmetric smile that suggests he could say more."

Harry and Meghan's engagement interview was thrust back into the spotlight at the end of 2022, when the couple talked about it in their controversial Netflix series. Meghan branded it an "orchestrated reality show" and claimed it was rehearsed with the couple told what to do. But BBC interviewer Mishal Husain hit back at the claims and simply said: "Recollections may vary" - the same phrase used by the late Queen in the aftermath of Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview.

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Earlier this month, Harry embarked on a whirlwind visit from California to see his father King Charles following his cancer diagnosis. The 45 minute meeting, prompted speculation the two men, estranged since the duke stepped down as a working royal, may be on the point of rebuilding their relationship.

In an interview, aired on Good Morning America to promote the Invictus Games in Canada, it was suggested a family illness could have a "re-unifying effect", and when Harry was asked "is that possible in this case?" he replied: "Yeah, I’m sure." Gesturing towards Invictus competitors, Harry added: "Throughout all these families I see it on a day-to-day basis, the strength of the family unit coming together. I think any illness, any sickness brings families together."

Buckingham Palace has not given details about Charles’s cancer and Harry declined to divulge any information when asked about his 'outlook' on the King’s health, replying "that stays between me and him". But he said he would be visiting his father in the future: "I've got other trips planned that would take me through the UK or back to the UK, so I’ll stop in and see my family as much as I can."

Jennifer Newton