Prince Harry was 'still anxious' as he left St Paul's Invictus service and ... trends now
Prince Harry's 'lack of body engagement' during his walkabout in London gave him 'the option of a face-saving exit' if he had a bad reception, an expert said today.
The Duke of Sussex greeted crowds as he left St Paul's Cathedral alone yesterday following a service to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games.
The estranged royal, who was met with cheers from well-wishers, beamed as he shook hands and joked around with hundreds of people who lined up to greet him.
And body language expert Judi James told MailOnline that he clearly marked the walkabout as 'brief and impromptu via his body language announcement rituals'.
These included 'bending towards the crowd and hunching his shoulders to avoid giving the impression that this was a scheduled event', the psychologist added. She also said that he showed 'signals of inner anxiety' both before and after the service.
Prince Harry meets members of the public outside St Paul's Cathedral in London yesterday
The Duke of Sussex waves to fans as he leaves St Paul's Cathedral yesterday after the service
Prince Harry waves to well-wishers outside St Paul's Cathedral in London yesterday
And Ms James pointed out that Harry 'stands away and leans in from a distance rather than making it more of a royal, immersive form of greeting and chatting'.
By JUDI JAMES
Harry has clearly marked this walkabout after the service as brief and impromptu via his body language announcement rituals, bending towards the crowd and hunching his shoulders to avoid giving the impression that this was a scheduled event rather than a quick pop across to register his ongoing popularity.
He stands away and leans in from a distance rather than making it more of a royal, immersive form of greeting and chatting and his lack of body engagement probably gives him the option of a face-saving exit if his reception is less than warm.
Harry's wreathed grin with eye crinkling suggests he might be excited and relieved to meet fans in the UK although his signals of inner anxiety that were visible on the way into the service he are still on display here and might even have increased.
Harry's hand to waist gesture on his way into the service was a barrier ritual masking as a buttoning of his jacket.
On his way out though he is placing his hand flat across his stomach and even switches hands when he goes to do handshakes with the crowd.
At one point his left hand also pulls his jacket across and he starts to fiddle with the buttonhole.
This placing of the flat of the hand across the stomach is a barrier ritual he shares with his brother William. Combined with the buttonhole fiddling it implies a desire to self-comfort.
For Harry it is linked to deeper emotions too as he has used it in the past when he has been speaking about his mother.
Judi James is a psychologist and body language expert
Advertisement
She said his 'lack of body engagement probably gives him the option of a face-saving exit if his reception is less than warm'.
Ms James added: 'Harry's wreathed grin with eye crinkling suggests he might be excited and relieved to meet fans in the UK.'
As Harry left the cathedral around 6pm yesteday, he greeted the crowds and was heard asking two fans from New York what had brought them to the UK.
When they responded that they were in Britain for a wedding, the Prince jokingly asked whether it was 'in there' - referring to St Paul's.
The Duke joked around with one enthusiastic fan who had her arms outstretched with two phones to try and get the best shot of Harry.
'Why have you got two phones?' he laughed. 'It doesn't make sense!'
The crowd was tightly guarded by police officers, and shouts of 'we love you Harry' could be heard while others screamed with excitement until Harry got into a Range Rover and was driven away.
Earlier, Harry arrived at St Paul's just before 5pm for the service which was also attended by close relatives of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales and a mentor who supported him after her death, along with hundreds from the 'Invictus family'.
Analysing his arrival, Ms James said there were 'signals of inner anxiety that were visible on the way into the service' which were 'still on display' by the time he did the walkabout
