Prince Harry and Meghan Markle broke the royal formation for an 'important reunion', it has been claimed.
A body language expert says the pair appeared to break the formation to come together for what looked to be a "desperately important re-coupling" after honouring the Queen. Her Majesty's coffin left Buckingham Palace for the final time and went to Westminster Hall today.
A 20-minute service was then led by the Archbishop of Canterbury accompanied by the Dean of Westminster. As reported by the Mirror, members of the Royal Family stood in formation during the service facing the coffin on its purple-covered catafalque, which was flanked with a tall, yellow flickering candle at each corner of the wide scarlet platform.
The King and Queen Consort stood at the front, followed by the Queen's children, Prince William and his wife Kate - the new Prince and Princess of Wales - and Harry and Meghan. Once the short moving service was over and the Queen's relatives left the hall, the Sussexes were one of the few royal couples to hold hands with a tight grip after both had bowed and curtsied to the coffin.
And according to body language expert Judi James, their hand holding gesture was very noticeable and one it appeared they needed. She told the Mirror: "Inside the service the wives joined their husbands, but again the large spatial distances looked deliberate to create an air of formality.
"They all lined behind the coffin with maybe two pace-sized gaps between them an no passing of any glances or non-verbal signals. Andrew stood alone, rigidly to attention.
"As they couples filed out they seemed to keep to this formation apart form Harry and Meghan, who moved closer and stretched their arms across the gap to hold hands in a mutual re-linking gesture.
"They used their clasped hands as a method of offering support, comfort and reassurance to each other and, walking behind William and Kate and presumably on the brink of a moment when chat might be near, the re-coupling appeared to be desperately important to them."
Earlier today, King Charles and his three siblings, Andrew, Anne and Edward and the Queen's grandsons Peter Phillips, William and Harry, who stood shoulder to shoulder, escorted the late Queen's coffin from Buckingham Palace.
Also taking part in the procession were Anne's husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Earl of Snowden - Princess Margaret's son - and the Duke of Gloucester - a cousin of the Queen.
Harry and William, who have had a rocky bond of late, were previously separated by their cousin and Princess Anne's son, Peter, as they walked behind Prince Philip's coffin at his funeral in April last year.
But the formation today suggested there may have been a thawing in relations between the brothers, according to Judi
She added: "The royals were choreographed as the Red Arrows throughout the procession and service, with the Queen’s children in the front line and William, Harry and Peter Philips walking behind them with a large spatial gap between William and Harry as William walked behind his father and Harry filled the middle gap.
"Peter was not in between the brothers this time, suggesting further thawing of their relationship, but there was no possibility of any communication between them or any of the other royals."
Earlier, the Queen Consort Camilla accompanied Kate Middleton in a car to get to the service while Meghan sat in a different car with Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
Kate was captured looking down into her lap, as she passed the mourning crowds in London. Meanwhile, Meghan looked completely heartbroken. Now up to 400,000 people are expected to brave a 12-hour wait on the banks of the Thames to catch a glimpse of the Queen's coffin as she lies in state for four days ahead of her funeral on Monday.
Today's procession to Westminster comes after there were emotional scenes last night when the Queen's coffin was brought back to London from Edinburgh. The Queen's grandchildren, including Harry and William - the new Prince of Wales - and their wives Meghan and Kate, were among members of the royal family paying their respects to the late monarch by witnessing her coffin’s arrival at Buckingham Palace.
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