Prince Harry made several telling gestures that hinted at his "high levels of anxiety" as Meghan Markle gave her first speech in the UK since Megxit, according to a body language expert. The pair appeared at the One Young World Summit in Manchester, where Meghan delivered a keynote speech during the opening ceremony.
The former Suits star, who was dressed in a vivid red high-necked sleek trouser suit and matching red heels, smiled broadly and held hands with Harry as they made their way through the auditorium to huge cheers and applause, as delegates held up their phones to film them.
Former actress Meghan told the 2,000 delegates how her life had changed when she last joined the summit in London in 2019 – singling out her role as a wife and a mother – but making no mention of becoming a senior royal the year before.
And according to body language expert Judi James, despite the hand holding, the couple were less tactile - with Harry appearing awkward.
She told the Mirror: "The couple were less tactile than usual tonight as this was Meghan’s gig.
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"Harry’s gestures and rituals suggested high levels of anxiety, with a welter of checking self-touches to his clothing, including cuffs, shirt, tie and a pants hike as well as a folding of his jacket in front of his torso to suggest awkwardness.
"Meghan sat elegantly and offered a couple of loving touches on his back to suggest reassurance.
"The couple chatted and whispered together lovingly during the flag ceremony and it was Harry rising to his feet first as the Ukrainian flag went by.
"Harry seemed to find his comfort zone when he spotted an athlete he knew and rushed over to give him a hug. Otherwise, it was Meghan seemingly most at home and telling her audience ( amazingly) how nice it was to be back in the UK."
Meanwhile, when it came to the speech, Judi believes it was a "theatrical" performance by Meghan as she looked affectionately at her husband.
She added: "Meghan’s speech was full of loving emotion as she told about not fitting in as an ‘overwhelmed’ young woman to becoming a ‘Mom’ and finally she spoke of her husband sitting behind her, throwing Harry a glance of solid affection that made him look up at the ceiling and sigh.
"Meghan’s red outfit reflected the emotions she served up in her talk. Her facial expressions were theatrical as she told her story, including some shy eyelash fluttering at being just 'a girl from Suits' to some coy smiles as she referenced her marriage and her husband."
