How Kate Middleton Showed a "Less Guarded" Persona at Her Christmas Service

It’s been a tough year for Kate Middleton, from dealing with intense public scrutiny over her whereabouts to undergoing cancer treatment. Amid it all, the Princess of Wales has put on a brave face during the choice royal engagements she’s attended – and a body language expert says Kate’s latest appearance at her Christmas carol service shows how her public demeanor has changed to resemble her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.

In an interview with the DailyMail, Judi James revealed she saw “intrinsic, visible changes to Kate's body language that suggest her illness has added an extra dimension in terms of emotional signalling,” most recently at her Christmas concert on Friday, December 6.

As Kate hosted Together at Christmas, her annual televised holiday service at Westminster Abbey, for the fourth year in a row, James noted that the royal displayed “flickering, animated body language” that was more in line with how Princess Diana acted during public engagements than the “guarded” Kate of old.

“Comparing and contrasting the two women is rarely a fair thing to do but it's interesting how Kate's illness seems to have opened some small floodgates for her in terms of openly showing her love for William in the video update she made, and now in her approach to public events,” she told the publication as she opened up about the princess’s new “emotional range.”

While Kate’s “smiles, her laughter, her posture, and her energy signals” are all good signs for her recovery, James also revealed that the princess showed “stronger and more confident-looking projections of empathy” than before her illness–especially there were “several cancer survivors in the audience.”

“Her facial expressions have become more animated here, with an expanded range of running movements than we have seen her use in public before,” the expert revealed, adding, “she looks more emotionally confident here and far less careful and guarded than she often used to.”

She used an example of a story that Kate told about her kids Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte to illustrate her point, “Telling the story about Louis keeping the secret from Charlotte she uses mime rituals to act out her emotions and his, even rolling her eyes and widening them as she tells the story.”

While Kate hasn’t officially been confirmed for any more public appearances this year, fans can see her when the the 1,600 person service is televised in the Untied Kingdom on ITVx on Christmas Eve.

Read the original article on InStyle