Kate Middleton & Prince William's Body Language Avoids the Drama

london, england october 17 in this exclusive image released on october 20, 2021 prince william, duke of cambridge and catherine, duchess of cambridge are seen together backstage during the inaugural earthshot prize awards 2021 at alexandra palace on october 17, 2021 in london, england photo by chris jacksongetty images for earthshot

(Image credit: Chris Jackson)

published 1 November 2021

Everything royals do and say in public has to be measured—including their body language. This is a fact Prince William (opens in new tab) and Kate Middleton (opens in new tab) know all too well, and they have been very careful with how they hold themselves during official events over the years.

For body language expert Judi James, their slow and steady strategy was a clever one. "Kate and William's body language in public has been on rather slow simmer since their marriage, but recently there does seem to have been a subtle peak in their signals of power and confidence, both as a couple and as individuals," James tells Express (opens in new tab).

ballymena, northern ireland february 28 prince william, duke of cambridge and catherine, duchess of cambridge engage in a walkabout in ballymena town centre on february 28, 2019 in ballymena, northern ireland prince william last visited belfast in october 2017 without his wife, catherine, duchess of cambridge, who was then pregnant with the couples third child this time they concentrate on the young people of northern ireland their engagements include a visit to windsor park stadium, home of the irish football association, activities at the roscor youth village in fermanagh, a party at the belfast empire hall, cinemagic, a charity that uses film, television and digital technologies to inspire young people and finally dropping in on a surestart early years programme photo by charles mcquillangetty images — expand

Unlike Prince Charles (opens in new tab) and Princess Diana (opens in new tab) before them, and Prince Harry (opens in new tab) and Meghan Markle (opens in new tab) more recently, the Cambridges haven't shown any signs of drama for the media to pick apart and use against them. "Kate was never thrown free-fall into the spotlight by a rather cautious William and for years their body language has epitomised ‘good bland,' i.e. perfect enough to make them ideal ambassadors for the Firm, but not dramatic or telling enough to provide the kind of soap opera narrative that Charles and Diana provided, and which sparked the feeding frenzy that was claimed by Harry and Meghan to have become unbearable," James added.

south korea november 03 prince charles and princess diana on their last official trip together a visit to the republic of korea south koreathey are attending a presidential banquet at the blue house in seoul photo by tim graham photo library via getty images — expand

For the expert, the couple's demeanor has evolved recently. "Their caution does appear to have paid off and this seems to be reflected in a much more relaxed and even more tactile attitude in public," she said. "They also seem to have lost some of the tension caused by the Oprah interview that spurred William to break the habit of a lifetime and reply to a press question about racism during a royal visit. Now those signs of tension appear to have evaporated as they truly have emerged as a successful and impressive royal power couple."

James also emphasized that the duke and duchess are both forces in their own right, whether they're together or apart. "Like any good team they function as well individually as they do together, and there are no signs of any resentment or battles for attention when one or the other is taking a key role," she said.

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