Prince William Used a "Barrier Gesture" to Avoid Prince Harry During a Jubilee Event, Royal Expert Claims

Oof.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge depart after the National Service of Thanksgiving to Celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen at St Paul's Cathedral on June 3, 2022 in London, England. The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II is being celebrated from June 2 to June 5, 2022, in the UK and Commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952
(Image credit: Photo by WPA Pool / Getty)

So, um, Prince William and Prince Harry are not friends.

While Prince Harry has claimed that they never got along as well as we might have thought in the past, the tension between them is now totally blatant on the rare occasions they are seen together at a royal event.

On one such occasion, a service of celebration for the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee last year, the brothers were never seen interacting whatsoever. In fact, according to one body language expert, it was worse than that: Prince William was actively shielding himself from having to acknowledge his younger sibling's presence.

Commenting on William and Harry's seating situation in St. Paul's Cathedral, body language expert Judi James told the Mirror, "Harry looked firmly resigned to the back row here and was not sitting behind his brother as he was for the last service of remembrance.

"Harry’s expression did suggest some relief as he joked with Zara as he searched for his car on the way out and he threw a wide, open-mouthed grin in her direction from the pews, but otherwise he fell into a haunted eye expression with some rapid blinking to suggest inner anxiety, leaning in and down to Meghan when she spoke as though keen to get some support."

As for how William reacted to Harry's presence, James continued, "There was the opposite to an acknowledgement from William as he walked past Harry’s row during the parade out of the service.

"Sucking in his lips and with his chin pulled up in a gesture of resolve he appeared to turn his head in the other direction for a moment, raising his order of service high in a barrier gesture."

As ever, I hope these two can make up in the near future, because none of this sounds like fun to me.

Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.