Prince Harry, 37, and his wife, 40, flew to The Hague in the Netherlands at the Olympics-style event for wounded veterans. The Duke of Sussex gave a speech there, with his former-actress wife taking the mic frst to introduce her husband. She said of her partner: “He has spent many late nights and early mornings planning for these games to make them as perfect as possible for each of you.
“I could not love and respect him more and I know that all of you feel the same because he is your fellow veteran, having served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and 10 years of military service.
“He’s the founder of the Invictus Games, and the father to our two little ones, Archie and Lili. Please welcome my incredible husband, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex.”
Harry walked onto the stage and the pair shared a kiss, before the royal said: “Thank you, my love.”
Body language expert Mark Bowden claimed Harry showed discomfort during the kiss.
Mark is a co-founder of TruthPlane, which teaches people to win trust and gain credibility every time they speak. and is the author of Truth & Lies: What People Are Really Thinking, which has been described by former FBI counterintelligence agent Joe Navarro as “this year’s must-read on nonverbal communications and human behavior.”
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Adaptor gestures are movements that generally help people deal with discomfort, such as stress and anxiety.
They are named such because they are thought to help people “adapt” to their scenario. These gestures are unconcious and can include fiddling with clothes or figdeting, rubbing the face, arms or torso, or stroking the back of the head.
Meghan Markle stopped to kiss her husband before handing over the microphone, although the move appeard to “leave him off balance”.
Mark went on: “Meghan does not yield the center stage to Harry but receives a kiss in order to then give way to him.
“This block of the status position leaves him slightly off balance and again he adapts his clothing once the kiss is done, indicating some discomfort in the setting.
“Once again it is not unusual for such a public display of affection to cause discomfort. But in this situation, it seems to be amplified somewhat by the exchange of power that the kiss is being used for.”
Mark went on: “As his wife leaves the stage he delivers a weak smile where the eyes do not fully engage to show a strong emotion of pleasure in the situation.
“If this kiss was organised then a less confrontational yielding of the space to Harry would have looked easier and sent a more balanced signal.”
The Invictus Games is significant for Harry and Meghan. They made their first public appearance at the games.
At the time, five years ago, the games were being held in Toronto, Canada, where Meghan was living.
The pair have come a long way since, now sharing two children.
Harry discussed his offspring in his speech at the games.
He said: “To be role models, or the role models, that each of you are takes strength and it takes courage.
“When I talk to my son Archie about what he wants to be when he grows up, some days it’s an astronaut, other days it’s a pilot – a helicopter pilot obviously.
“Or Kwazii from Octonauts. If you’re laughing then you’ve seen that.
“But what I remind him is that no matter what you want to be when you grow up, it’s your character that matters most, and nothing would make his mum and me prouder than to see him have the character of what we see before us today.”
