Prince Harry and Meghan Markle last spent Christmas with the royals in 2018 (Image: Getty)
and ‘s “cracks” with the Royal Family were evident during their , as the whole day seemed “staged”, a body expert has claimed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex . In 2019, they travelled to Canada with their son Prince Archie and a few months later, in early 2020, they stepped down as senior working royals.
During their last festive event with the Firm, the Sussexes had to walk to St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham and greet well-wishers who had gathered to see them. The pair were joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
According to body language expert Judi James, it was that day that it became obvious there were “cracks” between the two couples.
She told the : “There were subtle but powerful underlying clues that the rift between the two couples was anything but just a rumour here.
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The royals in Sandringham on Christmas Day 2018 (Image: Getty)
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“In fact, the opposite looked true; this had all the hallmarks of being a planned, choreographed ‘denial’ pose of the kind celebrity couples adopt when there are rumours of a marriage breakdown.
“At the time it was assumed that it was Kate and Meghan who had the beef and so the job of looking as though they could play together nicely seemed to have been placed firmly in poor Kate’s lap.”
Ms James said that during the walk, the moment when Kate stepped away from William to chat with Meghan was “nothing but staged”.
She explained: “The camera was directly in front of the foursome, and as they walked into view, Kate was the one making the effort, uncoupling from William to step across very obviously to chat and smile ‘happily’ with Meghan.
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“Kate’s smile as she chatted to Meghan looked very complex for a woman who normally performs uncomplicated, pitch-perfect smiles. We can see a double puckering of her cheek, suggesting her muscles were battling to produce a mouth smile that might have been in conflict with her inner emotions.”
The expert added that Meghan “did not respond to Kate’s detachment ritual with any of her own”.
She said: “She clung onto Harry’s bicep with a firm grip, making it look as though Kate was an interruption. She also held her bag and her gloves as a barrier gesture in her hand closest to Kate, while Kate’s inner hand was free and gesticulating.”