Prince William appears a 'clear leader' as he shows signs of becoming 'future king': Body language expert
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: A kinesics expert claimed that Prince William has shown optimistic signs of becoming a "future king" as he appeared to be the "clear leader" of the group when he joined his cousins to mourn their grandmother, the Late Queen Elizabeth II at a vigil on Saturday night, September 17. The 40-year-old new Prince of Wales was joined by seven other grandchildren of the Queen. The royal group stood by her coffin while she lay in state in Westminster Hall. A large number of weeping mourners were also present to pay homage to the late Queen.
Judi James, a kinesics expert, while speaking to FEMAIL revealed that Prince William showed himself as "next in line" while brother Harry looked "quietly emotional" and "proud to be back in uniform." Meanwhile, a "provide a supportive presence" was supplied by their "peacemaker" cousins Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips to Harry, William as well as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.
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"Leading the grandchildren and with his jaw firmly set, William’s body language showed acutely how much he has stepped up in terms of his role of Prince of Wales and next King in line since the death of the Queen," she said according to Daily Mail. "William has lost some of his shyness and anxiety signals over the last few days as he has appeared to have grown in stature and confidence."
"William was clearly the instigator and leader of the gathering with his wife and Harry and Meghan at Windsor and handled the difficult outing with high levels of physical confidence," James said. "His walkabout in the crowd prior to the vigil showed his engaging, social side and here at the vigil itself he looked like the rock that the others were drawing strength from. Harry walked behind his brother and while William’s determined-looking facial expression with a reflective gaze and a slight working of his jaw was visible. Harry’s hat peak and his slightly dipped head meant we could only see the rather clamped, straight line of his mouth." She then continued, "His posture and his marching walk reflected pride in the fact he was in uniform again but this was more of a quietly emotional appearance overall. William led the group and he and Harry were the only siblings not walking side by side." In his uniform, Harry became pure military: expressionless and upright with his clamped mouth just a bland horizontal line."
"The Queen's eight grandchildren showed 'formidable communal bravery," James said. "Marching out in step they silently took their places around her coffin and from the moment they adopted their poses the stillness from all of them was incredible. Even in close-up it was almost impossible to see them even breathing. They stemmed any tears and they showed no signs of nervousness or tension, just dignity and sense of duty," she explained.
Princess Anne's children Zara and Peter were a "supportive presence" to William and Harry, according to the body language expert. "With Zara using a very determined and confident walk, although she did falter at the very last moment, either dropping something or losing a shoe at the top of the steps and halting the line while she bent to retrieve it. Both Zara and Peter’s faces showed a certain amount of muscle tension with a look of determination in the set of their jaws. Beatrice and Eugenie have been so openly emotional about the loss of their grandmother, both weeping and hugging each other or holding hands but last night they applied a kind of regal self-control, exchanging no glances or looks of support but managing their vigils in stillness and silence," she said.
