A recent outing by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle suggests the couple could be one step closer to leaving their royal lives behind, a body language expert has claimed.
While in Texas for the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex popped into Texas BBQ joint, La Barbecue, for a bite to eat to meet the owner, Alison Clem.
Body Language expert, Judi James, believes the friendly gestures towards Alison were “overkill”.
Speaking to the Mirror she said: “Harry and Meghan’s hugs here look almost like overkill rituals, performed with exaggerated announcement gesturing and then being close enough and long enough in duration to suggest they’re at a family gathering rather than a trip to a BBQ joint.”
She then compared their hug to one given by “family groups at airports”.
Judi questioned the likelihood of Prince Harry fitting in with “normal working folk” and believes he could “drop his royal image”.
Speaking about his “broad smiles” and relaxed stance, she explained: “When the pose for a photo the owner is placed in a hug sandwich with Meghan on one side and Harry on the other, arms around them and broad smiles in place. Harry especially looks as though he is keen to drop his ‘royal’ image for a while and signal he is capable of joining in with normal working folk in a state of relaxed enthusiasm.”
As reported in People Magazine, staff at the restaurant also claimed the couple ordered brisket and sausages and were “absolutely lovely” while also posing for pictures with customers.
Prince Harry also spotted and liked an unusual mural of British rock star Freddie Mercury in a costume of Queen Elizabeth which was placed next to a gender neutral toilet. He reportedly said: “We should take a picture in front of this.”
Before visiting the Texas BBW joint, Meghan Markle had appeared on a star-studded panel for the SXSW festival.
During the panel, the Duchess opened up about her own experience with bullying as she insisted more has to be done to create online safeguarding measures.
Meghan said: “It’s really interesting because I can reflect on it, I keep my distance from [social media] right now, for my own wellbeing. The bulk of the bullying and abuse that I was experiencing on social media and online was when I was pregnant with Archie and with Lili, and [when] they were born.”
The panel was titled ‘Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen’. It shone a light on how women are represented in media and entertainment.
