Prince William is usually very composed in public, but he let that composure seriously slip while attending the royal wedding in Jordan last week.
ICYMI, the Prince of Wales was filmed apparently saying "chop chop" to his wife Princess Kate as she chatted to the bride, Princess Rajwa, for just a few seconds. He also threw in a hand gesture which looked meant to hurry Kate along.
While it's totally possible we're missing some crucial context here (and I personally very much hope so), royal fans as well as body language expert Judi James didn't like what they saw one bit.
"This is not one of [William's] finest moments when it comes to either body language or words," James told Express, commenting on the moment when Kate is speaking to Rajwa, and William has finished speaking to her and her groom Prince Hussein.
"While he has clearly moved on from the meet and greet with the bride and groom, Kate stands talking to the bride in an animated and very friendly way," James continued.
"She is not causing a 'log jam' [by] holding up the queue and the next guests are still talking to the groom, so there appears to be no logical reason for William to hurry his wife along, especially as she only adds a few seconds to the conversation."
The expert added, "Whether he says ‘chop chop’ his hand gesture alone is bad enough, with a winding gesture that would normally imply that time is running out."
James congratulated the Princess of Wales for ignoring her husband in this instance, but added, "it has to be said that his behavior is overly dominant here, with his critical parent behavior putting her firmly in the implied role of naughty child."
For James, the prince was being "rude" here, and could have resorted to alternatives if he was truly in a rush (for some reason?).
"He could have walked back to stand beside his wife and used a subtle tie sign, like a small pat of the waist or back," the expert suggested.
"Most couples have subtle rituals that they use to communicate silently in public that don’t entail any obvious impatience and the Waleses are normally very adept at these techniques."
Better luck next time? One can only hope.
