According to a body language expert, Prince Harry made a unique “tummy gesture” during his contentious Q&A that revealed his true feelings towards his wife Meghan Markle. On Saturday, the Duke took part in a live online conversation with trauma specialist Dr. Gabor Mate as part of a promotion for his recently released memoir Spare.
In the candid interview, he discussed the loss of his mother, Princess Diana, when he was just 12 years old, as well as his use of cocaine, marijuana, and alcohol, as well as people’s reactions to the book thus far. He also highlighted Meghan and how she ‘saved him,’ and appeared to massage his stomach as he spoke.
Yet there might be a very revealing reason behind this, according to body language expert Judi James. Speaking to the Mirror, she explained: “When Harry talks about Meghan with ‘my wife saved me’ his features soften as he looks to his right as though visualizing her.
“He also places his left hand, which is the hand he associates with his old life in the royal family, inside his open jacket and rubs his stomach. “This looks like a childlike self-comfort ritual, suggesting he feels Meghan did help make him feel protected and safer and stopped some of the pain from the old life.”
Judi continued: “Harry has used this kind of childlike ‘tummy’ ritual with Meghan before. In his Netflix series, he was seen getting distressed taking a phone message from William. “His body language reaction was to raise his arms above his head and allow his bare belly to protrude in the gap between his clothing.
“He looked just like a small child asking to be picked up and comforted and Meghan did rush to put her arms around him in a very maternal way.” Nevertheless, Judi said in the most recent interview how Harry uses hand gestures to explain his story and to separate his past from this future.
She added: “His body language suggests he has adopted a ‘story-telling’ style of communication with the use of exaggerated gesticulation and facial expressions adding to the impact as he explains his emotions. “It is almost the complete opposite of shyness or reserve, which will lead to diminishing signals. Harry’s gesticulation is commanding, assuring everyone will be compelled to listen as he speaks.
“His style of hand movement is also revealing about his attitude to his two families and two lives, in the UK and in the US. In a move that has become a signature look for him, Harry raises his left hand as he talks about his life in the royal family and throws it off to his left side to illustrate distancing.
“It suggests it is in his past and that it is in a very separate compartment, away from his current life. This compartmentalizing is verbal as well as non-verbal. “He refers to ‘this life’ and he seems to use a small movement to suggest he is pushing it away. There looks like little room or desire for bringing it back and re-integrating into his other, current life in Harry’s mind. “There is also a spinning hand gesture to suggest a sense of chaos and lack of control in that life.”