'He looked fretful': Body language expert reveals how King Charles III, Anne, and Andrew had different facial expressions of grief
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND: King Charles III and his three siblings, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, and Prince Andrew, paid tribute to their mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on Monday, September 12, as they surrounded her oak coffin in an emotional royal vigil at St Giles' Cathedral. While hundreds of mourners queued outside the cathedral to pay their respects, “Anne, Charles and Andrew all had very different facial expressions of reflection and grief,” says body language expert, Judi James.
In an interview with Femail, a women's column in the Daily Mail, James said, “Charles's features had a more horizontal set to them, suggesting a desire for firmness and resolve. Andrew's brows were in a deep frown that gave his lowered eyes a rather pained expression.” While “Anne's brows were raised high above her downcast eye gaze. This is often performed in an attempt to avoid tears that can occur more easily when the eyes are squeezed shut but the look also seemed to imply an ongoing disbelief about the loss of her mother,” she said.
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The expert said when the King stepped out of the car with his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, he seemed okay “but once inside the cathedral his mood seemed to change.” He looked “fretful” and turned twice to look back at his brothers, Edward and Andrew, who followed him from behind.
“The four siblings then adopted the formation they would be doing their vigil in and it might have been Charles's expectation that they would walk in a line instead. When they reached the coffin, Anne's eye expression looked hollow as she gazed close-up before turning her back on it. Charles's reflective pose and the way he pulled up to full height suggested he was steeling himself before all four adopted the vigil pose with heads down and hands clasped in front,” James described.
While King Charles, Princess Anne, and Prince Edward wore military uniforms, Prince Andrew, who served in the Falklands War, appeared in a suit after being banned from wearing a uniform on public occasions following his civil sex assault case, stemming from his friendship with the convicted sex offender, the late Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew, the Duke of York will only be permitted to appear in military dress during a second Vigil of the Princes in Westminster Hall, as per DailyMail.