5 Times Prince William's Face Gave Away What He Thought About His Family

Prince William is a natural charmer, just like his mom, Princess Diana. He rarely lets his emotions get the best of him, but an occasional slip here and there has given royal watchers a glimpse of his other side. So here's a look at several moments when his face revealed what he was truly feeling.

William’s feelings towards Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor seemed difficult to hide in their brief exchange at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral. The disgraced Prince's relationship with the royal family had already become increasingly strained following the controversy surrounding his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. So when the family gathered at Westminster Cathedral in September 2025, there was an awkwardness around Mountbatten-Windsor's presence. At the end of the funeral, he tried to strike up a conversation with William, but, as reported by The Independent, William stared straight ahead and only very faintly nodded his head in response. A forensic lip reader, Nicola Hickling, claimed on Channel 5 that Mountbatten-Windsor was asking for forgiveness from William but was met with stone-cold silence.

William’s patience appeared to be wearing thin during the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey in March 2026. The senior royals gathered following the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and William was seen speaking quietly with Princess Anne, but his expression appeared noticeably tense as they talked. Lip reader Nicola Hickling revealed to the Daily Mail that William told his aunt, “I’ve had enough of hearing his name, to be honest,” before adding, “It’s up for debate.” It was not clear who he was referring to, but the comment came amid the controversy surrounding his uncle.

The coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla was meant to run like clockwork, but William and Kate arrived at Westminster Abbey later than planned with Charlotte and Louis. Their delay meant they could not get ahead of Charles and Camilla and had to join the King and Queen’s procession into the Abbey instead. William came in with scanning eyes and an unsmiling mouth as he led his family. Royal insiders believed William's face gave away the intense stress over balancing his duties with his young children. As they waited, a lip reader for Sky News claimed Charles was telling Camilla, “We can never be on time. Yes, I’m…This is a negative. There’s always something.”

When William and Harry came together to unveil Princess Diana’s statue in July 2021, their relationship was already strained. Harry had stepped back from royal duties with Meghan Markle and moved to the US, so the unveiling at Kensington Palace was a significant moment. According to body-language expert Blanca Cobb, Harry appeared to make several attempts to engage with William, while William remained more stoic and less responsive. “When Harry would actually turn his feet to angle towards his brother, his brother didn’t respond by turning towards Harry,” Cobb told Us Weekly. She added, “He was more stoic. He was less engaging with his brother and, in my opinion, Harry was trying to make attempts to engage.”

The surprise Windsor walkabout came just two days after Queen Elizabeth’s death, when William and Harry put their differences aside to greet mourners outside the castle. At the time, the Daily Mail claimed William decided to invite Harry and Meghan after a phone call with Charles, who believed it would be an important show of unity for the Queen. During the walkabout, body language expert Louise Mahler still suggested there was plenty of distance between the brothers. She explained to Australia’s Sunrise, “Everything he [William] does is admirable… The only thing that he has is his distance and complete lack of association with Harry. You don’t feel a magnetic pull; you feel a magnetic push away, and he’s saying very much, ‘Don’t come near me.’”