Meghan Markle took a starring role during her first overseas royal engagement as the Duchess of Sussex, according to a body language expert.
In July 2018, Prince Harry and Meghan undertook a two-day visit to Dublin, shortly after their wedding at St George’s Chapel.
During their visit, they signed the visitor’s book at the Government Buildings in Dublin with the then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
Body language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail: ‘Meghan and Harry’s first overseas visit soon after their wedding was a relatively “soft” one, but this trip still provided a clear showcase for their body language dynamic as a royal couple.
‘When it comes to analysing their choreography and their power signals, hindsight really is a strong benefit here because at the time we were led by assumption.
‘We assumed we were seeing new bride Meghan nervously learning the ropes, being ushered and protected by her confident and experienced new husband.
‘But in fact, looking at the less than subtle signals now, the opposite appears to have been true.’
Coming off the back of her role as Rachel Zane in Suits, Meghan was used to the spotlight.
Meghan Markle took a starring role during her first overseas royal engagement as the Duchess of Sussex, according to a body language expert
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive for a two-day visit to Dublin on July 10, 2018
During their visit, they signed the visitor’s book at the Government Buildings in Dublin with then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar
Unlike most of Harry’s previous girlfriends, Meghan was genuinely a self-made woman who had climbed the greasy – and notoriously competitive – pole to Hollywood success.
Meghan, three years older than the Prince, was also articulate and sophisticated, having been a straight-A student at school, whereas he constantly struggled despite the finest education money can buy.
Judi added: ‘Harry shows signs of acute nervousness and anxiety here while Meghan appears regally gracious, quietly alert and often in control.
‘It also appears that Harry’s nervous rituals peak when he is with Meghan but decrease when they are working a room apart.
‘This implies he might have felt under pressure to impress his new bride, or that he felt anxious by proxy when he was with her, suffering on her behalf.’
Analysing Harry’s body language when he first steps out of the car to be greeted by the Irish Taoiseach, Judi said he fiddles with the buttons on his jacket to comfort himself.
‘These auto-contact rituals are an exaggerated version of the self-comfort rituals his father Charles has used for most of his life,’ she said.
‘Harry adds one auto-contact, self-soothing touch that his father has never used, with a constant touching and holding of his wedding ring.
Body language expert Judi James told Daily Mail that Meghan moves into the lead role, steering Harry during the visit
According to the expert, Harry shows signs of nervousness and fiddles with his jacket buttons
‘Once Harry has signed, he again looks unsure, holding his pen up, while Meghan takes it confidently with a knowing smile,’ writes Judi James.
‘Meghan begins with some subtle mirroring or echoing of her husband’s rituals, fiddling with and pulling at the waistband of her dress.
‘This is a pointless act from her, which suggests it is purely prompted by empathy.
‘After this quick bout of echoing, she seems to pick up on his anxiety and make the rest of her behaviour about quietly taking charge.’
The visit came at the request of the UK government against the backdrop of Brexit.
Ahead of their wedding, Meghan told of her desire to hit the ground running as a working royal.
Days after the wedding, the couple joined the royals at a Buckingham Palace garden party to officially mark the 70th birthday of Prince Charles.
Meghan also joined Harry at her first Trooping the Colour, and accompanied the Queen on a whirlwind day of engagements in Cheshire.
The body language expert said: ‘We often use body language mimicry to assess someone’s emotional state, and by fiddling with her clothing like her husband, Meghan could easily have been working out exactly how he was feeling here.
Meghan, Harry and the Taoiseach of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, pictured in Dublin
Coming off the back of her role as Rachel Zane in Suits, Meghan was used to the spotlight
Meghan is described as looking like the ‘confident’ and ‘protective’ royal showing her ‘nervous-looking new partner the ropes’
‘Meghan then moves into the lead role, steering Harry and adding reward pats when he gets things right.
‘In many ways, it looks like a complete role-reversal or role takeover, with Meghan looking like the confident and rather protective royal showing her nervous-looking new partner the ropes.
‘As Varadkar walks along talking to Harry, Meghan inserts herself into the conversation by using a “broken wing” gesture, where the hand is raised and wrist drooped in a celebrity ritual, and by a preening touch to her hair, which would naturally attract attention.
‘When the pair walk into the signing room, it is Meghan arriving first, looking confident and graceful, but she quickly turns to take control of Harry, extending her arm with her brows raised in a gesture of authority as she takes his arm and steers him towards the guest book.
‘Harry responds by placing one hand on his chest in a passive ritual that seems to suggest he is happy to be steered here.
‘Once Harry has signed, he again looks unsure, holding his pen up, while Meghan takes it confidently with a knowing smile.
‘There is a point where Harry tries to steer Meghan forward first, but she is more dominant, standing back and putting a hand on his back to take charge.
‘When Meghan turns to the seats behind them, she raises an arm to steer Harry by waving him in that direction, then she lifts her left hand to take his elbow to steer him into his seat.
‘We can see Meghan steering Harry again as they approach the red carpet outside, and as Harry stands folding his notes and playing with them after his speech, we can see Meghan’s very firm hand appear to tug them from his hands and pass them to an aide standing behind.
The expert says that Harry’s body language suggests that he is happy to be steered
The newlywed’s first overseas royal visit in 2018 establishes their body language dynamic as a couple
‘Far from being the nervous newbie royal receiving an induction from her husband, Meghan seems to be the very confident wife offering encouragement and an almost maternal sense of support and steering to her anxious-looking husband.’
This is not the first time Judi has pointed out Harry’s ‘awkward’ body language at events alongside Meghan.
As recently as April this year, Meghan took centre stage at the Time 100 Summit in New York, leaving Harry to assume the role of ‘spare’.
While some considered Harry to be merely adopting the role of doting husband, the body language expert told the Daily Mail that Harry was displaying some ‘awkward-looking body language poses while a more assured Meghan takes the starring role’.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams added that since moving to America five years ago, Harry hasn’t yet found his own way. He said that Harry’s comfort zone is his charity work, and this is the direction in which he naturally finds himself leaning.
Meanwhile, Meghan is most at ease in the spotlight and performing on stage.
This translates into their body language dynamic, meaning even as working royals, Harry allowed his wife to take centre stage at events while he followed her lead.
