The Royal Family presented a united front on Tuesday, the first day of the Sultan of Oman's state visit in Windsor, despite Prince Harry's bombshell interview aired later that day. While senior royals appeared in full force representing the Crown, Harry's interview with GQ included remarks about family "drama" that could be seen as damaging.
In response, the royals maintained a dignified silence and instead adopted a new approach, described by a body language expert as "animated and enthusiastic," showcasing the monarchy at its best.
Expert analysis of royal body language
Speaking exclusively to The Daily Express, body language expert Judi James said: "The dull, misty and soggy weather did seem to take some of the sparkle off the ceremonial welcome, but the royals appeared able to compensate via their body language displays. As Charles, Camilla and Kate stood waiting for their visitors they all three appeared to invest more effort in their chats with members of the armed forces."
James continued: "All three used one-armed gesticulations that were animated and enthusiastic. The impression was that of a certain re-energised approach to the art of the formal royal outing."
"Kate performed the perfect smile and an equally perfect curtsey as she greeted their guests, and her small talk chats were made to look enthusiastic and utterly pleasant. We were watching peak performance royals here, despite the rain, all moving like clockwork to show how a real royal event should look."
Harry's interview comments
The Royal Family has not commented on Harry's latest remarks in his GQ interview, which touched on his father, King Charles, and his brother, Prince William. When asked whether he grieves the relationship he used to have with them, Harry said: "Yes, of course. I think from a family perspective, again, another massively relatable issue for so many people, sibling disagreements, broken relationships between kids and their parents, kids and one parent."
He added: "That continues to come up with me the whole time with people that I speak to, so I know how relatable it is. People may look at us and go, 'How are you gonna work it out? Maybe that will help me work my stuff out.' Some people don't want it to work out. I want it to work out. With everything else that's going on in the world, the most important thing is to reconcile—that's the key point. [...] Scars stick around forever."
Harry continued: "But what your perception is, and what your mindset is to those things that have happened, letting go of the past. That's something that I would encourage everybody to do: If there's certain things from the past that are still affecting you every day, that's harder to let go of. But, for me, there's enough drama in the world and enough drama in people's lives to continue with issues with family."
Spokesperson's clarification
Harry's team has since insisted his comments were not directed at his royal relatives. A spokesperson from the duke's team said: "It was absolutely not intended as a swipe at his brother or any other member of his family. The comment was made in a general context and was not directed at his family in any way."
