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Prince Harry continued his trip in New York City today by delivering a passionate speech about the threat the online world poses for children – and an expert believes the poignant cause made him appear emotional and angry
Prince Harry’s tense gestures passionate speech at a high-flying New York summit showed his full emotions and anger, a body language expert has claimed.
Harry took part in the Clinton Global Initiative in New York earlier today where he called for action to tackle the “pervasive threat” the online world poses for children, warning: “Our kids can’t wait.” He suggested the harmful effects of social media meant people were being used for a “human experiment” rather than enjoying a “human experience”.
Harry, who took to the stage solo and paced back and forth holding a microphone as he addressed the audience, said there was “critical work to do” and it was a “crisis that cannot be ignored”. His speech came as he and wife Meghan Markle’s Archewell Foundation launched the Parents Network last month as a support network for parents of children affected by online harm.
And according to body language expert Judi James, the delivery of his speech was very telling. She told the Mirror: “Harry’s body language here makes him look nervous, emotional and at times angry about the cause he is pressing. His pacing the stage, the way he bites at his words and then sucks his lips in gives him a rather reproachful look for this very important subject matter.
“He seems to project some suppressed anger around it and delivers his message with that, rather than more easy-going charm or more animated passion. His usual signs of nervousness about making a speech are visible as he walks out on stage. He fiddles with his waistband before puffing slightly and looking down.
“There is a weak smile from him at the brief applause but then he places his left arm up around his lower ribs in a very pronounced barrier gesture that looks new to his repertoire and hints at a desire to self-protect.
“The left-hand moves into his pocket as he paces around the stage with a rather military look, as though briefing a battalion. And that could be Harry’s way of trying to motivate his audience to his cause. He looks genuinely troubled and angered by it and keen to brief the room to action, using some very tragic and poignant photos on the screen behind him.”
The King’s youngest son followed appearances earlier in the session by primatologist Jane Goodall, celebrity chef and humanitarian Jose Andres, former US president Bill Clinton, US politician and head of Nasa Bill Nelson, and billionaire philanthropist Hamdi Ulukaya, the boss of the US yoghurt firm Chobani, and Laurene Powell Jobs, who is the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
Harry is carrying out two days of engagements in the Big Apple on the East Coast trip without the Duchess of Sussex during UN General Assembly High-Level Week and Climate Week.
His other events in New York on Tuesday will see him focus on Lesotho – the impoverished southern African country where he set up his Sentebale charity to support Aids orphans – at a UN General Assembly side event, and gather with the Travalyst organisation, which he founded to encourage the tourism sector to become more sustainable. The duke is set to briefly return to the UK to attend the WellChild annual awards next Monday.
