Meghan Plays Second Fiddle to Harry on Australia Tour — And It Says a Lot About Her Marriage: Expert
The Duchess stepped back so her husband could step forward, and royal experts say it was anything but accidental.
The old adage about public life is that the most revealing moments are seldom planned, they say. And on the opening day of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Australian tour, one expert believes that story is worth paying attention to. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex launched their four-day visit with a stop at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, drawing enormous crowds and prompting immediate comparisons to the late Princess Diana. On the surface, it looked absolutely doable. But body language expert Judi James, speaking to The Express US, saw something more nuanced playing out. From the way Markle held Harry's hand to the direction of her gaze, James suggests the Duchess has perhaps deliberately stepped into a supporting role.
The reception at the hospital, James notes, set everything in place. "So this 'not a royal tour' is already looking like a 'royal-ish' alternative," she observed, "as Harry and Markle bask in the reception from patients and fans here before performing some familiarly 'royal-ish' rituals of a walkabout and patient visits that clearly delights both the fans and themselves." The crowds, she adds, were considerable. "The upward-facing gaze in the hospital reception shows them apparently surrounded by fans, with their body language signals and responses showing the place is full to the upper gallery."
It was Harry, however, who commanded the room. "Harry is shown as dominant here," James explained, "soaking up the attention and proof of popularity with his mouth open in an expression of delight as his hand is raised in a 'hail' gesture." Markle's posture told a different story entirely. "Meghan's pose is more submissive and clearly intended to show off their togetherness as a double act. She employs the double-handed clasp of his hand and turns her torso in towards Harry as her gaze mirrors his, along with his expression of delight."
It was evident in their interactions that Markle wanted her husband to be the focal point. That dynamic extended to the couple's interactions with the children. "There is the matching, mirrored fully dip and crouch to register total attention on the children as they work through the line-up," James noted, "and then Harry's classic 'royal-ish' extended handshake of a patient in his bed."
The gestures were sort of synchronized, but James suggested that Harry consistently occupied the foreground while Markle oriented herself around him. The pattern was intentional, per James. "Meghan seems to be defining her role here as one of support to her husband at this earliest point in their visit," she reveals. "As he chats to some hosts, she gazes at him adoringly, striking a dutiful pose and offering an amount of flattering eye-attention that suggests she is in a less assertive-looking role." For a woman rarely described as someone who fades into the background, it is worth noticing — and, James implied, it was a calculated choice.
Harry, for his part, leaned fully into the warmth of the reception. "There is a hint of performed humility here," James said, "with Harry arriving and placing one hand over his heart at the keen reception. Harry is an avid user of hand gesticulation, and he uses this rather theatrical 'announcement' gesture to signal love and gratitude, letting the audience know that their affection means a lot." The crowd, by all accounts, felt it. "He and Meghan show keenness to get into the walkabout, dropping hands in a mutual ritual, although later they are seen performing a little hand dance in order to retain their clasp as they change positions."
