How 'calm' Meghan Markle helped 'nervous' Harry through royal wedding
Meghan “was the strength” of her wedding ceremony to Prince Harry as her body language showed she was constantly reassuring him, an expert said.
Despite the whole experience being completely new for Meghan, who last night became the Duchess of Sussex, she did not display a single sign of anxiety or nervousness – while her new husband, the Duke of Sussex, “was so patently nervous”.
Judi James, a body language expert, said Harry performed about 12 self-touching body checks, like pulling at his gloves and wringing his hands, within a few paces of getting out his car after arriving at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
However Meghan, the latest member of the royal family, maintained complete calm throughout the ceremony to “help Harry through it”.
“Meghan was amazing. Walking up the aisle by herself, I looked for every smallest sign of suppressed anxiety and nervousness – there was absolutely nothing,” Ms James said.
“I think she probably saw it as her role to help Harry through it rather than the other way round. She sat with her hand over his for quite a bit of the service as though she was reassuring him.
“To me, she was the strength when it came to the day and the actual performance.”
Ms James described Meghan’s hand as “like a ballet dancer’s” throughout the exchanging of their vows as it was incredibly steady.
The Duchess’s eye gaze was also a strong sign of her confidence in leading the day, Ms James said.
“For me, today was something we don’t usually get at royal weddings, which is the eye gazing between the couple because she gave Harry a 100 per cent eye gaze.
“When he went to take his vows, the undistilled awe and love for her is what we normally see at royal weddings in very tiny glances – but we got the full force of it with this one, which is what made it unique and very touching.”
Comparing the newlyweds to William and Kate, who married seven years ago in Westminster Abbey, Meghan and Harry were able to hold eye contact for much longer, Ms James said.
“The love that was emanating out of Meghan’s eyes really helped him quite a lot. Even her blink rate hadn’t got quicker so there was nothing – even in the smaller details – that showed nervousness,” she observed.
Meghan and Harry’s relationship
Ms James also commented on the touching “role reversal” reassuring relationship between Prince William and Harry before the ceremony began.
“It was William who gave him a lot of reassuring smiles to calm him down a little bit,” she said, whilst observing William looked much calmer at his wedding to Kate Middleton than Harry did.
After entering the chapel with his brother, there were several signs of Harry’s nerves increasing as he began touching his face, blinking more and licking his lips.
“It was quite unusual and sweet to see him in that mode because normally at royal events he is the joker in the pack and making everybody else laugh,” Ms James said.
“But this one had knocked him sideways a little, probably more than he was expecting,” she added.
Ms James also observed the rest of the royal family, especially through the colourful sermon delivered by American Minister, Michael Curry.
“It clearly would have been a first for most the royals, who weren’t expecting it,” she said.
“Camilla went from smiling and laughing in the right places to thumbing through the program like she did at the Commonwealth Games. I don’t think she was quite sure how to take it.
“Even Harry did a slight finger tap, which could be a suppressed sign of impatience. Him and Meghan kept catching one another’s eyes through it.”
One member of the audience whose body language was particularly noticeable was Chelsy Davy, Prince Harry’s ex-girlfriend.
“She was the spectre at the banquet,” Ms James said.
“When she arrived, everyone else was chatting and laughing, but she sat in the pews just looking to one side – gazing reflectively into space and biting her lips slightly. She was doing that at the end as well. It was almost the soap opera part of the ceremony.”
