Meghan Markle spoke in a calm, measured voice about battling suicidal thoughts and her eye contact and movement suggested a ‘burst of strong emotions’ as she recalled the difficult time, a body language expert has claimed.
Meanwhile Prince Harry’s ‘silent pause’ and ‘gesture of regret’ when asked about Prince Charles suggested his relationship with his father will be harder to mend than his and William’s, according to Judi James.
The expert went on to say that Meghan’s less dramatic delivery when discussing alleged comments made about Archie’s skin colour showed a ‘subtle plea for empathy or agreement,’ while Oprah’s ‘jaw-drop’ gesture suggested ‘utter shock.’
During the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired on CBS on Sunday, Harry’s body language created a ‘much stronger presence’ than it did in the teaser trailers, Judi told FEMAIL.
She said Harry demonstrated he has very much taken on the role of ‘protector and defender’ in his marriage to Meghan, who admitted she ‘didn’t want to be alive’ at one point during her life within the Royal Family.
Meanwhile Meghan’s ‘generally understated’ body language made her delivery ‘all the more shocking and compelling’, and her cradling of her baby bump suggests ‘protective motherhood’ relating to the narrative about Harry and Archie losing their royal protection, Judi claimed.
Meghan Markle spoke in a calm, measured voice about battling suicidal thoughts and her eye contact and movement suggested a ‘burst of strong emotions’ as she recalled the difficult time, body language expert Judi James has claimed
During the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired on CBS on Sunday, Harry’s body language created a ‘much stronger presence’ than it did in the teaser trailers, Judi James told FEMAIL
Judi added that the couple’s body language suggested they were keen to let people know that the smiles they saw in photos were ‘masking tears and potential tragedy behind the scenes’.
Speaking about the moment Meghan made the shocking confession that she ‘didn’t want to be alive anymore’ while pregnant with Archie, Judi observed: ‘This is said in a calm, measured pace and a deeper or lower vocal tone and with no added drama in terms of Meghan’s body language.
‘Meghan uses eye contact with Oprah and there is a micro eye-dart to suggest she accessed recalled memory at one point as she explains.
‘Her brows even go up to expose more of the eye and an accelerated blink-rate or eye-stutter suggest a burst of strong emotions at the memory.
‘Meghan performs a small head-baton for emphasis before shaking her head from side to side as though keen to shake off painful feelings.’
Judi remarked that Harry looked ‘almost tearful’ when he spoke about his father and feeling ‘really let down because he’s been through something similar’.
Harry said while Charles and the rest of his family were welcoming to Meghan at first, things changed after their New Zealand tour – and when the couple travelled to Canada for Christmas shortly before announcing their plans to quit the Firm, his father stopped taking his calls.
‘He knows what pain feels like… and Archie’s his grandson. I will always love him, but there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened,’ Harry said. ‘I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship. But they only know what they know, and that’s the thing.’
The Duke added that while Charles is now speaking to him on the phone, there is ‘a lot to work though’ because he feels ‘really let down’.
Judi said Harry’s most dramatic body language shift occurred when discussing his father. ‘The silent pause was so telling, as were the eye cut-off, head-shake and tongue-poke,’ she explained.
‘Harry sucked his lips in, which is often a gesture of regret and he looked almost tearful as he spoke of “a lot of hurt”.’
She added: ‘When asked about “blind-siding” the Queen, Harry performed a finger-pick and eye-dart plus a pause as Meghan face-gazed before illustrating his respect and affection.
‘His response to William’s name was surprisingly affectionate too. It prompted a smile and even a small laugh as he told us he loves William. He clapped his hands together then threw them apart as though miming the split after friction but his smile suggested it was a relationship that could be mended.’
Meghan Markle became tearful as she told Oprah Winfrey she felt suicidal when she was part of the Royal Family living in the UK and told her husband: ‘I don’t want to be alive anymore’
Meghan Markle also claimed in the interview that the Duchess of Cambridge made her cry before she married Prince Harry – but insisted that she has now forgiven Kate Middleton and said she bought her flowers to apologise about the incident.
‘Meghan’s body language suggests some reluctance to answer Oprah’s quick-fire questions here, or a desire to take them at a slower, more measured pace,’ observed Judi.
‘There is no body movement as the subject of Kate comes up and in reply to Oprah’s emphatic first question about making Kate cry, Meghan’s response is a soft-voiced, simple “No” as she raises her brows, shakes her head in denial and performs a closed-lip wry-looking smile.’
The expert goes on to say that when pushed further Meghan can be seen doing a couple of ‘fast blinks’ to suggest a burst of emotion and a ‘closed-mouth sigh’ of what sounds like exasperation as she looks down.
She adds: ‘Her mouth-shrug makes her look reluctant but her comment “The reverse happened” comes with some affirmative nodding.’
Although Meghan became tearful at one point, Judi observed how for the most part of the interview her body language looked generally understated.
‘She used a constant shake of the head from side to side to suggest disbelief at the things she said she had suffered, plus eye cut-offs or a longer closing of her eyes to suggest pain at the memories,’ she said.
‘Meghan threw frequent imploring hand gestures at Oprah, with the palm of the hand placed upward to suggest a desire for empathy and agreement, but some hand-chopping gestures, some eye-stutters and a couple of subtle tongue-pokes suggested supressed anger at her memories, especially when she spoke about losing protection for Harry and Archie.’
Meghan also used her bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview to accuse the Royal Family of having ‘concerns’ about ‘how dark’ Archie’s skin would be before he was born because she is mixed-race and Harry is white.
Judi claims that while Oprah’s ‘jaw-drop’ gesture suggested ‘utter shock,’ Meghan is less dramatic in her delivery.
‘She pushes one arm out to Oprah in a gesture that suggests a subtle plea for empathy or agreement rather than an over-kill signal,’ the body language expert says.
‘She pauses as she speaks and her eyes dart quickly to her left to suggest recalled memory or evaluation.’
The Duchess of Sussex described her ‘pain’ that officials had denied Archie the title of prince and accused Buckingham Palace of failing to protect him by denying him 24/7 security.
Meghan refused to say which royal had the conversation with Harry about Archie’s skin colour, claiming it would be ‘damaging’ to the person in her husband’s family who raised it.
Speaking of the Duchess of Sussex, Judi adds: ‘When she talks about ‘concerns and conversations’ about Archie’s skin colour she uses very small head-baton and hand-baton affirmation gestures to pace her words.’
Judi observed how Meghan’s cradling of her baby bump during the interview was a gesture she used when she was pregnant with Archie.
‘In video we were told by Meghan about her levels of distress at this point, suggesting that gesture could also have been hugely protective back then too, probably even more so given how she described her life and treatment,’ Judi said.
She added that Harry performed some ‘thigh-rub self-comfort rituals’, suggesting a natural awkwardness when he first appeared part-way through the chat with Oprah, and was reassured by his wife who quickly stretched out an arm to place a hand over his in a protective gesture.
‘By the end though it was Harry’s hand over Meghan’s suggesting he had now very much taken the role of protector and defender,’ Judi continued.
‘At one point he even touched her hand to interrupt and take over the narrative. His constant rubbing of his wedding ring showed clearly where his affection and comfort lies.
‘Harry performed his own rituals of suppressed anger as he affirmed Meghan’s narrative and added his own thoughts and experiences and if anything his emotional displays of anger and grief looked more open than hers.
‘Like Meghan he adopted a precision-pinch gesture frequently to suggest detailed thinking, as well as lifting his hand in the air to turn it round as though turning an invisible door-knob as he spoke of his problems.
‘He even used illustrative gestures to mime parts of his distress, miming the “trapped” life that he had been leading with a two-handed roof gestures.’
Harry said he felt ‘trapped’ within the royal institution, and said he has ‘huge compassion’ for the fact his family members still are.
Although Meghan became tearful at one point, Judi observed how for the most part of the interview her body language looked generally understated
‘My father and my brother, they are trapped,’ he said. ‘They don’t get to leave. And I have huge compassion for that.’
Judi concluded that the more candid footage shown during the interview of the couple at home was used to illustrate what they would describe as ‘the freedom and simplicity of their lives after Megxit’.
‘It’s Tom and Barbara from the Good life, with wellies on feeding chickens as Meghan describes herself as The Little Mermaid who married her prince,’ she said.
‘After all the talk of tragedy these clips seem necessary to illustrate the very simple pleasures of life outside the “trapped” existence of palaces and royal life. The mood is completely different and happy, showing us that the now carefree couple made the right choice in getting away.’