Body Language Expert Reveals The Stark Differences Between Harry & William At Philip's Funeral
Prince Philip's funeral on April 17 marked the first occasion that Prince William and Prince Harry had been seen publicly together in over a year. The pandemic has meant that the royal family hasn't been in each other's company for a long time, and Sky News reported that the brothers hadn't been in a lot of contact since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March.
Given this, and the strained relationship the princes have publicly acknowledged (Harry described his and William's relationship as "space at the moment," via The Associated Press), the public and media could only anticipate how the brothers would interact and carry themselves once reunited at their grandpa's funeral.
Both would walk in the funeral procession, with the two princes separated by their cousin, Peter Phillips. According to Harper's Bazaar, the procession order was determined by the Lord Chamberlain's Office and signed off on by the queen, and so not the result of any tension between the brothers. This said, sources told the Daily Mail in the days leading up to the funeral that royal aides had been "walking on eggshells" in an effort to navigate William and Harry's rift.
As for the day of the funeral, it would start out with the brothers walking apart, but end with them walking together (with Kate, back to Windsor). As for how they handled the day, The List spoke with relationship/body language expert Nicole Moore for help in breaking down the stark differences between Prince Harry and Prince William at Prince Philip's funeral.
Harry's the more emotional one of the two princes
Moore said that Prince Harry's body language during the funeral procession revealed him to be the more emotional one between him and William. "Prince William [as future king] was all duty, no emotion," she explained, while "Harry had subtle body language tells that indicated he was feeling a lot of emotion during his grandfather's funeral." She said Harry looked tense, stressed, and emotional at the start of the march.
The BBC reported on April 12 that both Prince Harry and Prince William shared touching tributes to their grandfather, and even their tributes may reflect how different the two royals are in their approach. William wrote, "I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job" and "I feel lucky to have not just had his example to guide me, but his enduring presence well into my own adult life — both through good times and the hardest days."
In his tribute, Prince William reflected on the lessons he learned from Philip and how they will help him as a future monarch. Harry's tribute, meanwhile, also praised his grandpa for his lifelong public service, but also focused on memories made and the pain of losing someone you love. He ended his tribute with, "But to me, like many of you who have lost a loved one or grandparent over the pain of this past year, he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right 'til the end."
William keeps his emotions 'under a lid'
Moore explains that if you watched William and Harry before and during Prince Philip's funeral, she believes they reacted quite differently. "While members of the royal family were standing in front of the funeral procession before the car holding Prince Philip started moving, Prince Harry's body language was very tense. His hands were balled up into fists and his brow was deeply furrowed," she says. "Prince Harry showed his emotions while Prince William kept his under a lid."
She also said that at one point, Prince Harry looked skyward, a stark difference to William and the other members in the funeral procession who were marching forward, with eyes unblinking. Harry broke with the party at some point by looking up for a moment, "searching for something," Moore told The List, "or perhaps a moment of escape from the emotions and tension of the funeral."
Further, as the brothers took part in a minute of silence to remember their grandfather, Moore noted that William and Harry again handled the moment differently: "Harry bit his lip and his chin was jutting out, his body language showing that he was attempting to hold back emotion. His lips were pulled tight together in a very thin line, indicating that he was trying to keep a straight face but having a hard time."
In contrast, Moore said that William was more reserved throughout, saying, "Prince William had the same, blank face the entire time with little to no variation in his facial expressions."