Prince Harry in 'His Element' Without Wife Meghan Markle, Says Body Language Expert

Prince Harry recently took the stage solo at a charity event sans his wife Meghan Markle, who, most of the time, accompanies him. The Duke of Sussex was at Santa Barbara One805Live, organized by Hollywood star Kevin Costner, and body language expert Judi James told The Mirror that despite being on his own, Harry was completely 'in his element.'

James opined, "Harry's body language here suggests that he is totally in his element and delighted to be soaking up or even surfing the on-stage adulation from the A-list audience like a star of the show," noting the seemingly small signs like 'his open jacket; his gleefully beaming smile at the audience, and that cheeky, knowing thumbs-up gesture' all suggested he was in 'full show-boating mode' at the event. 

When the same event happened last year, the former actress was right beside Harry, and by default, everybody expected her to show up this time as well. However, Markle was reportedly sick and was unable to make it to this year's awards. But James said the Duke's stage presence didn't disappoint as he was confident and lit up the event with his charming gestures. 

"While the two award recipients stand together looking tentative, Harry is in full play mode, stretching an arm out to grab one man on the shoulder in a very informal display of recognition," continued the expert. "His hand mic, that signal of who is in charge, is held high to his face, which is turned upward and away, with his head tilted and his chest puffed to suggest a moment of complete confidence during this solo outing." 

On the contrary, last year when Markle accompanied Harry, James noticed a 'series of awkward-looking poses from Harry and a tricky microphone moment from Meghan.' However, this year, she saw a different side of the 40-year-old younger royal whose 'level of involvement looks clearer and his mic management far more adept.'

The Prince has embarked on a few solo trips and events without his wife and many have claimed that it seems like a good opportunity for Harry to reclaim the spotlight from her. For instance, the Sussexes' mid-August faux royal tour in Colombia was labeled as the 'Meghan show,' which led to Harry looking 'grumpy' during one of the trip's most key moments.

Royal editor, Matt Wilkinson, also told The Royal Observer, "A lot of it was about Meghan. A lot of the images and the words sent out to us via the [Sussex] press office, [not] just by a pool reporter… it was all about Meghan. The whole thing was created about Meghan." Although some photographs showed him looking enthusiastic and involved, his uninterested expressions did show up occasionally. "And when you saw the footage that was filmed by people at the dinners or people who were there that weren't part of this press pool, they showed a slightly different picture," Wilkinson added. "Harry looked a little bit grumpy. May I use his vocabulary — he perhaps looked a bit like 'the spare.'"