The Silent Gesture Meghan Markle Uses to Get Prince Harry to Stop Talking in Public

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 12 February 2022

As far back as their first public appearance together – holding hands at the Invictus Games in September 2017 – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been the most PDA-friendly of royal couples. And, like many of us with our own partners, Meghan uses a certain touch, a body language expert says, to let Harry know that it’s time to stop talking and move on.

Jesús Enrique Rosas, also known as the Body Language Guy on YouTube, told the Daily Express that when Meghan is ready for Harry to end a conversation while in public, she expresses it not verbally but with an under-the-radar gesture that could easily be missed by someone not intricately studying the couple.

“So, Meghan does that signal that she applies so many times to end conversations – that is touching people,” he says. “Whether it’s the [Commonwealth Day 2019] video, or the red dress [Annual Salute to Freedom Gala] video, or the Oprah video where she wanted Harry to stop talking, she used that touch that is more like a tap.”

Rosas analyzed several public appearances Harry and Meghan made over the years – both before they resigned as working members of the royal family and after – and noticed this polite gesture happened over and over, with Harry frequently, and with others, as well. While attending the WellChild Awards in 2019, Meghan seems to signal nonverbally that she needs to move on to the next part of the evening by tapping an attendee’s arm.

“And she does that on the lady – she taps her arm then goes to grab her purse,” Rosas said. “And touching the lady and grabbing her purse means let’s go.”

How relatable is it to politely tell your partner to stop talking? We've all been there.

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.