Boris Johnson's puffed out pose suggested a "state of aggressive arousal" during his meeting with Prince Charles today, a body language expert has said.
The two men met at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting ( CHOGM) for the first time since the heir to the throne reportedly branded the government's scheme to forcibly remove migrants who arrive through unauthorised means to Rwanda "appalling".
In the meeting, Mr Johnson and the Prince of Wales had 'a cup of tea and a catch up' today following the CHOGM opening ceremony in Kigali, Rwanda.
Boris entered the conference room first followed a few minutes later by Prince Charles.
They both stood, posing for a brief photograph with Boris pointing to the cameras and jokingly asking the press "Who are you?" Charles stood awkwardly with his hand in his pocket but managed a chuckle before the pair sat down alone.
After the television camera, press photographer and two Number 10 staff - one videographer and one photographer - were shown out, tea was brought in.
On a table nearby, croissants and snacks were laid out during the meeting which lasted 15 minutes and 10 seconds.
Boris was the first to depart, leaving brusquely to attend another meeting.
Charles's private secretaries were then invited into the meeting room for a debrief with the heir to the throne before they also left around eight minutes later.
Since the heir to the throne's alleged comments on the migrant scheme, much has been made of their relationship, with reports in the past also suggesting tension between the pair.
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Their meeting also came after the under-fire PM had a torrid night at the polls as the Tories lost two critical by-elections, in a humiliating blow to his leadership
And body language expert Judi James says the Prime Minister appeared to be wanting to show his "superior strength".
She explained to the Mirror: "These two high-ranking males stand side by side together here like toddlers told to play nicely, with their arms down at their sides and a matching pair of awkward part-grins on their faces.
"The way Boris has buttoned his jacket and then apparently sucked in his stomach to puff out his chest could suggest a desire to project superior strength or even a state of aggressive arousal."
However, when it came to the first handshake between the pair, Judi says Charles's "exaggerated" gesture looked to be his way of keeping Boris at a distance.
She added: "During the handshake though it is Boris lowering his head in a gesture of submission.
"The distance between the two men and the way Charles’s arm is exaggeratedly stretched suggests a desire by the heir to the throne to keep his PM at as much of a distance as possible. Boris’s eye engage might be a silent plea for a truce.
"In the first picture, Boris seems to be sizing Charles up with a frowning, unsmiling gaze as he waits on the sidelines.
"When Boris clasps his hands behind his back like this it usually suggests a desire to keep out of trouble."
Meanwhile, also at the opening ceremony today, Charles told Commonwealth leaders the potential of the family of the nations for good cannot be realised until we all “acknowledge the wrongs which have shaped our past”.
He described how he was on a personal journey of discovery and was continuing to “deepen my own understanding of slavery’s enduring impact”, in a speech at the opening of a Commonwealth summit in Rwanda.
He recognised the roots of the family of nations “run deep into the most painful period of our history” and acknowledging the wrongs of the past was a “conversation whose time has come”.
