Prince Harry and Meghan Markle dropped their new Netflix documentary “Harry & Meghan” on Thursday, and a body language expert analyzed the key moments between the couple.
Body language expert Darren Stanton on behalf of Betfair Casino pointed out the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s “tell-tale signs” that prove they showed their “true emotions” on camera.
When Harry discussed his first date with Markle, he showed signs of “nervousness” and “embarrassment,” Stanton told the Post.
The couple revealed that they actually met through Instagram — and that Harry was half an hour late due to traffic.
“I was panicking, I was freaking out, I was sweating,” he said.
“Whilst speaking about their first date, Prince Harry started to go a little bit red, which is congruent with embarrassment. He then started to touch his face and nose – signals which are referred to as pacifying gestures,” he said.
These gestures give self-assurance when speaking about something that might make the person uncomfortable.
Harry touching his face suggests that he’s not entirely comfortable discussing his relationship with Markle and “has the urge to shy away from it.”
“When we think about a memory the unconscious mind believes we are reliving it, so, therefore, evokes all of the emotion that the person felt in that memory,” Stanton shared.
“Even though Meghan and Harry are in the present day speaking about their first date, the unconscious mind of Harry is triggering all of those past feelings and that is why we saw him go red and become fidgety,” he added.
But while Harry appeared to be full of nerves while discussing their first date, Markle was “the most confident.”
“In terms of body language in this particular clip, Harry comes across as jittery and quite nervous, however, Meghan is completely calm and controlled,” Stanton said. “Let’s not forget that she is very used to doing pieces on camera through her acting career. She knows how to perform to her best. “
“In this particular clip, she is definitely the most confident person due to the fact that her body language conveys composure,” he continued.
When the couple was joking around about Prince Harry’s real list of qualities he looked for her in a girlfriend, they were acting “very mischievous.”
“It’s clear that they have a great sense of humor around each other and both of them are willing to demonstrate that in front of the cameras. Meghan was quite playful when Harry was speaking about him seeing her with a dog filter on social media as the pair laughed,” Stanton said.
As they were joking about the list, Harry said “let’s not go there” — showing that he is still sensitive to talking about past relationships.
“He clearly wants to keep that very much in the past and focus on the present. However, he brushed off the conversation in good spirits, doing so in a joking and mischievous way,” Stanton explained.
In the documentary, Prince Harry compares his wife to his late mother Princess Diana — and he truly believes the similarities to be true.
“So much of what Meghan is and how she is, is so similar to my mom. She has the same compassion. She has the same empathy. She has the same confidence. She has this warmth about her,” Harry said in the documentary.
Stanton believes that this is perhaps what drew Harry to Markle in the first place.
“When Harry was speaking about Meghan, I did not see any signs of deceptive behavior or that he was faking his emotions for the cameras,” he said. “His body language and behavior seem to be totally congruent with what he is thinking. From his non-verbal communication, it’s apparent that he truly believes Meghan is similar to Diana.”
Stanton said that it’s also evident Harry believes what he’s saying to be true because he becomes more serious when talking about it in the clip.
Harry also still feels a sense of loss for his late mother, Stanton added.
“When we think about people we have lost in life or certain traumatic situations, our mind triggers some of those feelings and thoughts. It’s clear from Harry’s non-verbal communication that when he was speaking about his mother, we did see some micro-expressions of sadness. This is a clear indication that he still greatly feels loss for his mother,” he explained.
Stanton also pointed out that Markle is a “kinaesthetic” and “tactile” person who likes to touch — which she learned could be “jarring” for others when she first met Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton.
“As Meghan was talking about the moment, I noticed her eyebrows came up and her face dropped. This was a combination of the emotions of feeling embarrassed and shame,” Stanton said. “When she was repeating the memory about the meeting, her unconscious mind was fighting off the same feelings that she had back then.”
Markle revealed that during her first meeting with her future brother- and sister-in-law, she thought it would be appropriate to hug them — but didn’t know that hugging is “really jarring for a lot of Brits.”
Stanton said that from previous analysis of William and Kate, they also tend to be kinaesthetic people — they just had to warm up to Markle.
“t was clear from William and Kate’s response that they still had to get to know her a little before that could happen. From previous analysis that I have done on Prince William and Kate, they also come across as kinaesthetic people, but they can be guarded before deciding they want to get close and open up to someone, like most people,” he said.