A glance here, a frown there — body language can tell us a lot about how people feel about
each other… and that goes especially for the British royal family.
While the various members of the royal family have known each other for long periods of
time, it took Queen Camilla a good while to bridge gaps between herself and her fellow royals.
Not only was she on the outside looking in for years, but Camilla was often seen as the
other woman in Charles and Diana's marriage — which naturally caused a bit of residual tension.
Of all the royal family members she knows today, Camilla is said to be particularly
nervous around Prince William and Princess Catherine…
at least, that's according to body language expert Judi James.
Camilla has to contend with William's strong dedication to his late mother as well as the
couple's relative popularity: William and Catherine are certainly more favorably looked
upon than Charles and Camilla.
James dissected one scene for the Express, analyzing an event attended by the two couples
at the Royal Pavilion.
James said:
"There were strong signals of positive anticipation from Charles as his daughter-in-law Kate walked
up the steps to greet him."
James also said that Camilla's movements towards Catherine were not nearly as welcoming.
She added:
"There was a small gesture of anxiety from Camilla as the very elegant William and Kate
approached up the steps, as she lifted her bag in front of her torso in a barrier gesture."
It's no secret that the relationship between Prince William, Princess Catherine, Prince
Harry, and Meghan Markle is a little frosty.
The so-called "Fab Four" only joined up for a handful of appearances before Harry and
Meghan announced they were stepping back from royal life — and the few instances in which
the couples have reunited have been incredibly tense.
Most notably, their joint Windsor walkabout in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II's death
showed just how distant they had become.
Dr. Louise Mahler analyzed their body language for Woman's Day.
She said:
"What is absolutely clear, is that William and Kate do not want to be associated with them.
They are being polite.
And it's a very minimum, otherwise they're getting no eye contact.
Distance is being kept."
Shifting attention to William and Catherine specifically, Mahler noted that they clearly
wanted to establish how different they are from Harry and Meghan in the eyes of the public.
Even before Meghan Markle arrived on the scene, Prince Harry always marched to the beat of
his own drum.
He made it clear early on that he would rather be with his fellow soldiers in the military
than shaking hands at a formal royal event.
"It wasn't done in the wrong way, but it was just—"
And this all became even more apparent whenever Harry interacted with Camilla.
Analyzing their body language, Judi James told the Express that the Duke of Sussex nevertheless
behaved warmly toward Camilla for the sake of his father.
She also suggested that their dynamic has likely grown colder in the wake of the claims
Harry made in his 2023 memoir, Spare.
James said:
"There's always been an air of politeness about Harry's body language with Camilla.
Given Harry's profound loyalty to his mother and her memory, this decision of polite attentiveness
should suggest some very strong bonds of affection for his father, too."
Even before the release of Spare and the Netflix series Harry & Meghan, Prince Harry made it
quite clear that his relationship with the other royals was on thin ice — and that
was particularly true for his brother, Prince William.
Their well-documented feud was rumored to have started when William expressed concern
about the haste of Harry's relationship with Meghan Markle, and things appeared to go downhill
from there.
After Harry and Meghan left the Firm in January 2020, it was a long while before fans saw
William and Harry interact with one another in person.
But that day came in July 2021, when the brothers unveiled a statue dedicated to their mother,
Princess Diana.
At the time, body language expert Karen Donaldson broke down their tense interaction for Women's Health.
Noting that Harry was likely trying to guard his feelings, Donaldson said:
"Prince Harry seems to be a tad uneasy.
We can see it in the manner in which his upper body is slightly bent forwards and his shoulders
slightly slouched."
She also pointed out that Harry played with his wedding ring throughout the event.
She said:
"This is a displacement gesture.
When we are tense, we engage in non-verbal gestures that help us deal with the uncomfortable things."
Donaldson also pointed out that they were not only standing far apart from one another,
but also walked out of sync while side by side — suggesting considerable tension between
the two brothers.
Princess Anne is nothing if not dedicated to the monarchy.
Regularly named the hardest-working royal, Anne has a stiff-upper-lip approach that borders
on outright stoicism — and this became increasingly obvious as she started to interact more with
Prince Edward's wife, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.
Two very different women, Anne and Sophie both work on behalf of the crown… but they
might as well live on different planets.
"Live long and prosper."
Breaking down their dynamic, specifically at a Royal Air Force event, Judi James told
the Express:
"Their body language together hints at differences that appear to move both women into rather
contrasting states when they are together.
[...] While Sophie wears a tooth-bearing, polite royal smile Anne merely raises her
brows and keeps her lips closed."
Focusing on the event itself as an example, James drew comparison between Sophie and Anne's
reactions to a joke cracked by Edward.
She said:
"Sophie looks uncharacteristically giggly and school-girlish here.
[...] This naughty schoolkid body language seems to have brought out a far more prim
response from Anne."
Though King Charles III is the star of the monarchy given the fact that he's, y'know,
king, Princess Anne has given him a run for his money.
Charles has historically been seen as a softer, more emotionally-driven figure in the royal
family, whereas Anne holds a sense of decorum that is reminiscent of her late parents, Queen
Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
Given how different they are, it's no surprise that Charles and Anne have shared some rather
tense moments together.
Judi James told the Express that being surrounded by strong women, such as his mother and Anne,
made things harder for Charles as a leader.
She said:
"Charles grew up sandwiched between two remarkable women.
Both his mother and his sister are hard-working, strong and stoic, with no outward signs of
emotions like anxiety or self-doubt.
Charles on the other hand has always shown signals that suggest self-pity and inner anguish."
Much of this might come down to the fact that the two royals experienced very different childhoods.
James said:
"Growing up he and Anne perfectly defined the chalk-and-cheese sibling relationship,
with Charles suffering through his school years while Anne just got on with things.
As Charles adopted a more academic approach to the life of a future king, Anne became
a successful, no-nonsense sportswoman alongside her regular royal duties."
The royal family is all about appearance, and, in that sense, Prince Andrew is a constant
thorn in their side.
"My judgment was probably colored by my tendency to be too honorable."
No doubt thanks to his behavior, his daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, have
also found themselves on the outskirts of the firm.
Judi James broke down just how different they are from their royal counterparts.
Referring to Zara Tindall and Lady Louise Windsor, both of whom are also granddaughters
of the queen, James told the Express:
"There is a very large, pronounced divide between the behavior, styling and body language
of the late queen's granddaughters.
Zara and Louise appear to have embraced a country lifestyle that includes a shared passion
for horses.
[...] Meanwhile, Beatrice and Eugenie's lifestyles have been very typically town-based socialites."
Noting how much Sarah Ferguson influenced her daughters, James referenced Fergie's status
as a royal outsider and divorcee, both aspects that would have prompted more distance between
the princesses and the royals as a whole.
She said:
"Fergie has always been a hugely influential factor in her daughters' lives and styling
and it's this that has probably taken her girls away from the traditionally royal horsey lifestyle."
Prince Harry has reunited with Prince William and Princess Catherine only a few times in
recent years, but these moments have been fraught with tension.
Take a moment to think back to Harry before Meghan Markle — he was always the third
wheel to William and Catherine, showing up as their media sidekick who didn't really
have his own thing going on.
Breaking down their dynamic when reunited for the Windsor walkabout was body language
expert Jesús Enrique Rosas.
He took to YouTube to specifically analyze Catherine's responses to her brother-in-law's
presence, saying:
"I have seen Catherine walking thousands of times and she usually doesn't have her chin
that high up."
Rosas suggested this could be seen as arrogant, but also said she was likely showing who was
really in charge.
Further distance between the trio was once again displayed during King Charles' coronation.
While Harry did travel to Britain for the event, he avoided interacting publicly with
William and Catherine, keeping his distance and quickly leaving for the airport once the
big day concluded.
When King Charles walked Meghan Markle down the aisle at her wedding, it seemed as though
the two were forging a tight bond.
However, the fallout between Prince Harry, Meghan, and the royals as a whole stunted
a potentially close relationship before it had the chance to get off the ground.
"My dad said to me: 'Darling boy, you can't take on the media.
The media will always be the media.'
And I said, 'I fundamentally disagree.'"
Judi James revealed to the Express that Meghan was set on establishing a tight relationship
with Charles before things went south.
She suggested:
"Charles and Meghan could possibly have forged a very deep relationship, according to their
body language rituals.
In a group setting Meghan tended to single her father-in-law out with her eyes and her
facial expression seemed to light up when he spoke to her."
James also noted that Meghan's attempts to cater to Camilla were likely an attempt to
win favor with Charles, though all those efforts quickly crumbled as the couple left their
royal life behind.
Of all the royal women who have crossed each other's paths, Princess Anne and Queen Camilla,
have a particularly complex past.
Having both dated Andrew Parker-Bowles, and with Anne having seen Charles and Camilla's
affair disrupt the monarchy, it's no wonder that these two don't really get along.
In fact, Judi James told the Express that tension between the two women was palpable
as early as June 2005, clearly indicating that things were off to a rocky start.
She said:
"Anne stands closer to her brother to apparently push Camilla out of the small group here,
even raising her arm so that her elbow forms a barrier gesture."
And the problems didn't end there.
According to Princess Diana's dressmaker, David Emanuel, Anne confronted Camilla after
Charles' coronation with a stark warning.
He claimed:
"I heard that there was a Coronation dinner [...] obviously the king and Camila were there,
and apparently the Princess Royal said, 'You're not Queen, you're the [Queen] consort.'"
So much attention could be paid to the infamous Windsor walkabout that you could probably
write a whole thesis on it.
Not only did it put the fraught dynamic between William, Catherine, Harry, and Meghan on full
display, but it also gave royal watchers a glimpse into Catherine and Meghan's relationship.
From the very beginning of her time in the royal family, Meghan was positioned by the
royal rota as Catherine's counterpart, often being compared on looks, decorum, public appearances,
and more.
While this was playing out, Catherine and Meghan were cordial, but many royal experts
will tell you that they never became friends.
Joint appearances, such as their day out to Wimbledon together, helped smooth over rumors
of distance, but the Windsor appearance proved just how cold their dynamic has become over time.
Analyzing the interaction, body language expert Katia Loisel told 7News that Catherine regularly
tried to give Meghan the cold shoulder during their joint appearance.
She said:
"Quite unlike the confident Meghan we know, Meghan appeared ill at ease during this encounter,
which is not surprising given the recent criticism that she has faced.
On numerous occasions Meghan looked over at Kate, however, the gaze wasn't reciprocated."
Adding that Catherine looked through Meghan rather than at her, Loisel highlighted that
Meghan went to wave on occasion, before getting nervous and turning the wave into a comforting
motion of pulling her hair back.