'Awkward' Harry’s ‘royal status has gone’ after Duke was ‘ignored’ at polo

15 August 2023 , 14:41

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'Awkward' Harry’s ‘royal status has gone’ after Duke was ‘ignored’ at polo

Prince Harry looked "awkward" at his recent polo match because he had to adapt to his new normal after loosing his royal status, a body language expert has claimed.

Judi James made the remarks after the Duke of Sussex was spotted wandering around during the Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup in Singapore.

She claims he was "virtually ignored" after the match, which he played alongside his close friend Nacho Figueras, 46. The game resulted in a seven-seven draw. Following the match, the Duke was seen taking a moment of solace by himself before he joined the team to collect the trophy. However, it appeared that he only allowed himself and his friend to hold the award.

Speaking about his behaviour, Ms James said: "Harry probably doesn’t have any body language for moments like this - when he is left alone, un-hosted and virtually ignored by the others at the event.

Harry held tight onto the trophy as he collected the award with his team (AFP via Getty Images)

"As a royal, he would have been guaranteed to be the centre of attention in a group setting and used to getting admiring smiles of polite flattery when he was out at events, but that clearly isn’t a given now his royal status has gone.," she told Express. He looked awkward and appeared to dither, left to his own devices without even the adoring gaze from his wife to bathe in.

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"He vied to gain attention via a small non-verbal joke, pretending to carry the award and buckling slightly under its weight. Even there though, he only seemed to gain the attention of some of the players while others ignored him and one even performed a cut-off gesture with his hand to his face as Harry walked off."

Prince Harry and his friend Nacho Figueras competed together in the match (Getty Images for Sentebale)

The body language expert claimed Harry has had to get accustomed to things being done differently since his "royal status has gone". She continued: "Seeming to dither a little, Harry wiped his hands on his trousers before Nacho called out to him. After walking away again Harry seemed to adopt the role of litter-picker, appearing to pick a bottle up from the ground to place it on the table.

Harry showed strong hints of his previous ability to get his own way though, when he grabbed the trophy and seemed reluctant to share it despite the win being a team effort. His pal Nacho looked happy to adopt a similarly playful, indulgent role that William often had in Harry’s life, making an initial gesture to share the trophy but then standing back and allowing his hands to drop when Harry made off with it."

Monica Charsley