Expert Reveals The Moment Andrew Proved Himself a 'Shark' Feeding Off Kate's Spotlight
According to body language expert Judi James, Andrew operated in 'basking shark mode' as Kate commanded the crowd.
Body language expert Judi James has made a strong claim about a viral moment from Zara and Mike Tindall's 2011 wedding — one that has nothing to do with the bride and groom. According to James, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor spent the day trying to steal the spotlight from Princess Kate, with what she describes as the focus of a ‘basking shark.’
Just three months after Prince William and Kate's fairytale wedding at Westminster Abbey, the newly minted royal couple attended the Tindall nuptials at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh. It was meant to be Zara and Mike's day. But the footage from outside the church, as James sees it, captured something else entirely – a man working the edges of the frame, restless and calculating, angling for a place in a spotlight that wasn't his to claim, as per the Daily Mail. James noted: "Andrew appears to be in fully, socially opportunistic 'basking shark' mode here, moving from side to side at the back of the royal group," she said. While the rest of the family wore what James described as "appropriate smiles of good-humored delight on Zara and Mike's wedding day," Mountbatten-Windsor stood apart — hands clasped behind his back, expression fixed in what she called a "baleful-looking face."
And at the centre of the frenzy, that Mountbatten-Windsor seemed to be eager to penetrate was Kate — newly married, radiant, and commanding all kinds of attention. "With newlywed Kate a spectacular star in the line-up and with the very emphatic sound of cheering fans going into a major tizzy as she appears, Andrew and Harry step out as the 'Spares on the stairs,' lurking behind three top-tier royal couples like players consigned to the subs' bench," James observed.
Where others held their positions with grace, Mountbatten-Windsor, she claimed, continued to "pop up in different gaps to vie to break into their new star-studded formation where a beaming Kate is the centre of a royal fan frenzy." The choreography of it all, as James describes it, is almost theatrical. William, standing ahead of his uncle, turned his head back — whether to speak or simply to listen — and in that moment, James saw Mountbatten-Windsor making what she called "his first foray into breaking into the line-up, probably expecting an invitation to join in." When William turned back to face the crowd, Mountbatten-Windsor didn't retreat. Instead, he "hovered behind the couple with his head appearing in any gaps."
It was in one of those gaps, James claims, that something flickered across his face. "It is here that we can first see what looks like a glower at a smiling Kate that could, if it is aimed in her direction, singe the flowers on her hat," she quipped.
When Mountbatten-Windsor did eventually edge his way into the conversation, Kate's response was telling. Rather than engaging, James noted that the Princess continued "smiling alone with no apparent desire to join in." Moments later, both William and Sir Timothy Laurence turned back to face the front, leaving Mountbatten-Windsor isolated — "his chin lowered, his lips clamped, and his brows pulled into a frown, again appearing to glower in Kate's direction." Through it all, James was careful to note, Kate seemed entirely unbothered: "radiant and joyful," and "seemingly unaware of any eyes on the back of her head."
Despite his persistent manoeuvring, Mountbatten-Windsor's efforts ultimately came to nothing. He may have worked his way into the periphery of the group, but he never broke through. James opined, "He slides right across behind them with his hands clasped behind his back."
