Cheers erupted in Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium today as the camera panned to a beaming Prince Harry and Meghan. Now, a body language expert has picked up on some intriguing details about the pair’s interactions, including Meghan’s telling “seal claps”.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in attendance at the glittering opening ceremony of this year’s Invictus Games, which saw performances from Katy Perry, Nelly Furtado and Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
It’s well-known that the Invictus Games, a sporting tournament that champions injured servicemen and women, is a cause very close to Harry’s heart – and Meghan, 43, couldn’t have been prouder of her husband as the pair enjoyed the show from the stands, dancing away to pop hits just like the rest of the audience. And one fun gesture was apparently particularly symbolic.
Body language expert Judi James told the Mirror: “When Meghan picked up two big blue pom-poms and danced with them above her head, it was a fitting, symbolic gesture as her body language at the games so far seems to very emphatically define her in the role of Harry’s cheerleader and number one fan.
“She has put herself in the role of vector here, pointing the audience and their affection in Harry’s direction. Her speech included comments like ‘You will see him throughout the week, you will see him at the Games’ to create a sense of anticipation and her gestures and poses during the opening ceremony showed contagious adoration and awe as she clung to his arm in excitement and support or gazed at his face as he was mentioned from the stage.
“Meghan’s gestures to Harry were almost maternally affectionate. As he sat looking bashful with his lips sucked in or threw a cheeky double thumbs-up during some banter from Chris Martin, Meghan performed mouth-puckered smiles of pride or ‘seal-clapped’ him to his face, a form of clapping with the hands pointing upward that registers praise and recognition.
“She also touched his face more than once. At one point, she leant an arm out to stroke the back of his neck, and then when he stood to go to the stage, she tenderly cupped his face in both of her hands and kissed him on the lips as though he was her hero.
“Founded by Prince Harry in 2014 to champion wounded, injured, or sick service personnel and veterans, the Invictus Games is regarded by many as the Duke’s crowning achievement. Harry is known to be very hands-on with the competition, which has grown considerably since its conception and has previously addressed its deep personal significance to him as a former soldier.”
Judi continued: “Meghan acted like any other proud wife as the show progressed, turning her camera towards Harry as he enjoyed the music beside her. This seems to be part of the more relatable version of Meghan that she showed in the Instagram post, a very excited, loving wife taking her own photos like any other member of the audience.”
This year’s Invictus Games, the first-ever winter edition of the sporting tournament, begins today (February 8) and will last until February 16 in Vancouver-Whistler, Canada. During a welcome reception for competitors hosted yesterday evening (Friday 7), Meghan spoke about her husband’s commitment to the Games, describing participants as “family”.
Meghan said: “You will see him throughout this week, you will see him at the Games, you will see him probably curling with you, cheering you on. He wants to be there with you, he is in it with you.
“What you won’t have seen is all of the moments in the lead-up to these Games. All of the moments with, as you know, with families, the big rush in the morning, and getting ready for school and packing the lunch boxes and making breakfast and my husband’s in all of that with us.
“And then he’ll be on his phone, and Archie will say, ‘Papa, why are you on your phone?’. He’s like, ‘cos it’s Invictus… I’m getting ready for Invictus’. It means so much to him.
“You are his family, just as we are his family, and I hope you recognise how much of his heart he has poured into every single beat that has gotten all of you to this week that is going to be spectacular. I need you to know that, I need you to know how much it means to him and how much each of you means to you.”
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This follows a difficult few months for the Sussexes. A Vanity Fair article published last month cast a critical eye over their first five years after stepping down as senior working members of the Royal family, which included some negative accounts of Meghan’s alleged management style towards staff.
One source who worked on Sussex media projects told the publication: “[It was] really, really, really awful. Very painful. Because she’s constantly playing checkers—I’m not even going to say chess—but she’s just very aware of where everybody is on her board. And when you are not in, you are to be thrown to the wolves at any given moment.”
This piece, headlined ‘American Hustle’, also contains speculation over the state of Harry and Meghan’s marriage, which the couple have vehemently denied. The article even went as far as to speculate on rumours that Meghan had been approached to pen a ‘post-divorce’ book. However, it also stated that this was not on the horizon for the Duke and Duchess, with another source confirming their “love is real” and that they are “still hot for each other”.
Now, a new book by royal author Tom Quinn has seen the Sussexes come under scrutiny once more, with its revelations including the claim that Meghan was unhappy with hers and Harry’s first home together, Nottingham Cottage, or ‘Nott Cott’ as it’s often affectionately referred to.
In Yes Ma’am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants – which has been excerpted in The Times – Quinn wrote: “‘Meghan felt it was so small that it must be a reflection of how the royal family were belittling her husband. She just didn’t understand that real royals don’t care much about houses and material possessions because, having always had them, they take them for granted, said one member of staff who helped out regularly at Nottingham Cottage.”
He continued: “A rather beautiful house in the grounds of a famous palace hardly seemed to Harry the equivalent to being forced to live in a shed at the end of the garden. But for Meghan, things were more complex. She saw Kate and William living just a few yards away in Kensington Palace itself with teams of live-in servants.”
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