April 9 marks the fifth anniversary of Prince Philip’s death, with the late Duke of Edinburgh passing away at the age of 99. His small, socially distanced funeral was held amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and looking back at the day, body language expert Judi James said that Princess Kate had to “step up quickly” to support the family.
Prince Philip’s April 17, 2021 funeral at St George’s Chapel was the first time Prince Harry had returned to Britain since he and wife Meghan Markle stepped down as senior working royals a year prior. With the service taking place just weeks after his explosive Oprah Winfrey interview, the Duke of Sussex was put in an awkward position for his family reunion, and Princess Kate ended up taking charge.
“When a leader leaves a group it is always time for another leader to step up quickly and help fill the void,” James told the Daily Mail. “The Queen was in deep mourning, and an equally distraught Charles appeared to watch helplessly as his two sons engaged in a civil war that threatened to drive a rift through the entire Royal Family.”
As the family left the church, video footage showed Prince Harry walking between his brother and Princess Kate as they headed back to Windsor Castle. “The world watched as, once the service was over, Kate firstly offered a consoling and supportive hug to the weeping Charles before setting off solo to herd William and Harry together like a royal sheepdog herding two anxious and dithering sheep,” James said.
Adding that it seemed “clear from William and Harry's avoidance rituals that they would have walked apart had Kate not intervened and taken firm charge,” the body language expert noted Kate’s “last move” was “perhaps the most poignant.”
“Having stepped up in a way that would probably have pleased and amused the two prince's late grandfather, Kate steps back to allow them to walk and chat alone, falling in step with a very distraught Sophie instead and finally pulling out a hankie to dab her own tears and allow herself to take a moment of quiet grief,” James said.
Unfortunately, the royal reunion was short-lived, with the brothers avoiding each other during subsequent meetings, including King Charles’s coronation. However, they showed a brief moment of unity days after Queen Elizabeth died, with the Waleses and the Sussexes conducting a joint walkabout to meet members of the public outside Windsor Castle.
