During the Queen's funeral, Prince Harry stood behind his brother William and next to his wife Meghan Markle—and for the estranged royal, the event was difficult in more ways than one.
For body language expert Judi James, it was especially painful for Harry to be in such close physical proximity to William but still feel the very real divide between them since he and Meghan moved to California.
"During the service [Harry] was dabbing tears as well as tending to look around a lot and there were at least two occasions when his gaze that was more of a stare appeared directed at William," James told The Sun.
"His expression suggested sadness and possible regret."
After the service, James believes Harry had a really hard time again.
"Standing in line he watched as the brother he had once been so close to, the nephew he had adored playing with, and the sister-in-law he had viewed as his own sister filed in front of him with not one glance in his direction," she continued.
"His face seemed to pucker into a more intense signal of grief and his lips sucked in again."
Thankfully, Harry had his faithful wife by his side, ready to provide him the comfort he was missing. We saw this in the way they held hands for much of the ceremony (to the strange outrage of legions of royal watchers), but James spotted other ways the duchess helped her husband get through this difficult time.
"Some words did pass between Prince Harry and Meghan during the service and it looked as though she was consoling him in his grief and distress," she told The Sun.
"She was clearly tuned into him in terms of being supportive, turning her head in his direction several times when he moved."
Being a regular family is hard enough without all the added complication of a royal line of succession to consider. As ever, I hope they can figure this all out and leave the hurt behind once and for all.
