Princess Anne's 'frosty gesture proves she tried to push Camilla out' - expert

05 September 2023 , 16:03

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Queen Camilla and Princess Anne weren't always as close as they are now (Image: PA)

Princess Anne and Queen Camilla became sisters-in-law when Camilla married Anne's younger brother King Charles in 2005. And since marrying into the Royal Family, Queen Camilla has formed a close bond with the Princess Royal, with the pair regularly spotted speaking together at royal engagements.

However, the two hardworking royals weren't always as close as they are now. According to body language expert Judi James, pictures of Princess Anne at the monarch's wedding showed that Anne - as well as her parents, the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip - seemed to still harbour reservations about Camilla joining the Royal Family.

Princess Anne and Queen Camilla didn't always have an easy relationship, according to a body language expert (Rex)

The royal pair weren't always as close as they are now (PA)

She told The Express: "At the poses after their wedding the Queen and Philip stood back and away from the couple on the steps, which prevented any happy family photographs being taken and it looks very much as though Anne is equally unwilling to look anything more than frosty here, too."

This behaviour seemed to continue and in one picture taken in June 2005 - two months after Camilla joined the family - the expert claimed Anne wanted to create a "barrier" from Camilla. Judi continued: "There seems to be a sense of exclusion here as Anne stands closer to her brother to apparently push Camilla out of the small group here, even raising her arm so that her elbow forms a barrier gesture. Both Charles and Anne look grim-faced here, rather than sociable."

Anne and Camilla had history even before Camilla tied the knot with Charles. The Princess Royal actually dated Camilla's ex husband Andrew Parker Bowles for a brief period before he went on to marry Camilla in 1973. But the body language expert doesn't believe that contributed to their body language in 2006.

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Judi continued: "While Camilla walks ahead, smiling nervously but stoically at the cameras, Anne strides behind her with seemingly no attempt to catch up. It wasn't just the wedding to Charles that might have caused the look of a rift between the two women. In this tangled narrative of historical relationships, Anne was known to have dated Camilla's ex-husband. In many ways that barely fits the body language story at this time, though.

"History like that would normally create a sense of embarrassment or discomfort from someone in Anne's position but here she looks as though she might be ignoring or cutting Camilla rather than avoiding her, suggesting she is taking the same slow-thaw route to her sister-in-law as her mother."

Although Princess Anne may have kept a distance from Camilla shortly after her wedding, Judi said that by 2007 there had been a thawing when the two women were spotted laughing together at an engagement. At that point, Judi said, Camilla's popularity with the public was rising and she had proved her worth to the Royal Family with her workhorse attitude.

Zahna Eklund