LIFE & CULTURE

A Body Language Expert Weighs In On The Energy In Archie Harrison’s Tense Christening Portrait

“That whole side is negative"

Talk of a royal feud between The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Prince William and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shows no signs of abating this week in the wake of baby Archie Harrison’s highly-discussed royal christening portrait. 

Before we get into the nitty-gritty, here’s a rundown of who’s in the royal family portrait taken at Windsor Castle: the Duke and Duchess of Sussex look pleased sitting with their two-month-old. To their left and right, respectively, sit Camilla Parker Bowles and Kate Middleton. Standing above them, from left to right, is Prince Charles, Doria Ragland, Princess Diana’s sisters Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale, and Prince William.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzlHhZylvwT/

If you noticed the uncomfortable body language exhibited by Will and Kate Middleton in the family photo then you’re not alone. Here’s what royal enthusiasts had to say on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/aelomvyre/status/1147527057561268224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1147527057561268224&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instyle.com%2Fnews%2Farchie-christening-portrait-body-language-prince-william-kate-middleton
https://twitter.com/TrixieParson/status/1147532060053123073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1147532060053123073&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instyle.com%2Fnews%2Farchie-christening-portrait-body-language-prince-william-kate-middleton

Body language expert Patti Wood told InStyle U.S. that William’s demeanour seemed incongruous with what we typically see from the Duke of Cambridge.

“Prince William, though always correct and royal, is normally fairly relaxed and happy in family settings,” Wood explained. “Look at him here, he is stiff. His hands are not just held [in] the normal formal protective ‘fig leaf’ position, but tense and tightly as if wishes he had a metal plate there to protect him. And most dramatically, his facial expression is tight with downward pulling musculature in the forehead and cheeks with sour-faced nose and mouth.”

But the Duke of Cambridge wasn’t the only one who seemed on edge.

“The energy on that whole side is negative,” she said of the portrait. “Kate is also extraordinarily tense,” Wood continued, noting that her hands were in a similarly protective placement indicative of being “frozen with fear.”

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