Prince Harry and Meghan Markle displayed "over-kill" smiles as they stepped out on a date night as it emerged they were being evicted for the UK home, a body language expert has claimed.
The couple were seen at the £3,500-a-year San Vicente Bungalows in LA on Tuesday night - just as it was emerging that they had been asked to leave Frogmore Cottage in Windsor by King Charles.
The decision is reported to have left Harry and Meghan "stunned", while two other members of the Royal Family are allegedly "appalled". A spokesperson for the couple has since confirmed they were "requested to vacate" the property.
But despite the drama, the couple were seen smiling as they made their way from their car into the swish venue, which is one of the biggest celebrity hotspots in LA.
According to body language expert Judi James, photos and footage of the pair appears to show them "shrugging" off the eviction news by smiling widely.
But she told the Mirror that it seems to be a "deliberate projection" and likens it to "very much like a performance".
She explained: "It can be a tough enough call when your parents re-decorate your bedroom after you first leave home, so an eviction notice has got to sting no matter how rich, famous and grown-up you are.
"Harry and Meghan’s response here seems to be a deliberate projection of non-verbal 'shrugging' i.e. smiling widely and laughing in the face of the recent Frogmore news.
"But this looks very much like a performance. These smiles appear to be over-kill rituals rather than grins that are prompted by authentic happiness. Meghan’s underlying signals suggest she has gone into 'vulnerable' mode, while Harry's are all about underlying tension."
Judi added that Harry displayed three clear signals of his desire to hide while Meghan also gave away her vulnerable state.
She said: "Harry's expression seems to change from one of wariness to one of beaming delight as he steps out of the car and faces the cameras.
"His behaviour suggests some anxiety and a desire to protect as he hops about, rounding his group up like a sheepdog and ushering them into the venue.
"He has three signals that suggest a desire to hide: his jacket collar is turned up; he hikes his pants and fiddles with his clothing and, eventually, he shoves his left hand so hard into his jeans pockets that the knuckles turn white.
"His smile as he does so looks rigid and over-congruent as though he has made a deliberate decision to smile widely in the face of the recent news.
"Meghan’s more vulnerable look comes from the way she giggles into her hand in the car in a childlike gesture; the way she stoops as he walks into the venue and lowers her head, bringing her bag up in a barrier ritual; the hair that is styled to hang down on one side to curtain and part-hide her face, and the tight-looking hand clasp with her husband.
"Meghan’s smile is also wide but it looks incongruent, as though it might be taking some effort. It is not directional: she seems to be smiling at the pavement here, and it doesn’t have the kind of crinkling and narrowing effect on her eyes, which it would if it were more authentic."
According to Meghan and Harry's unofficial biographer Omid Scobie, the decision to boot the couple out of their Windsor home came just days after the Duke of Sussex released his controversial memoir Spare in January.
The co-author of the book about Harry and Meghan Finding Freedom said the couple was told the property was needed for "someone else" and that relations between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the Firm was at "an all-time low".
And writing for Yahoo, he explained: "It's news, sources tell me, that has left Harry and Meghan stunned, and at least two members of the Royal Family 'appalled'."
He also adds that a source says Harry and Meghan have been given until the summer, after the Coronation, to remove their belongings after initially being told they would just be given two weeks.
