Zara and Mike attended the first day of Cheltenham Festival today, which took place at Cheltenham Racecourse. The royal was seen holding hands with friend Natalie Pinkham as she arrived, and later hugging horse trainer Henry de Bromhead after he won the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle.
According to body language expert Judi James, Zara’s tactility is not surprising as the royal has often shown affection towards friends and family in this way.
This makes her different to other members of the Royal Family, who are not known even for hand-holding in public.
She said: “Zara is always the most gloriously tactile royal who will always instigate her hugs, embraces and hand-holding in the most natural way despite being surrounded by some of the least publicly tactile people on earth in other members of the Royal Family.
“There is a mantra about having to like yourself before you can like other people and in Zara we can always see non-verbal signals of a very ebullient, cheerful self-like and self-confidence that is lacking any apparent vanity or narcissism.
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“Zara and Mike just seem to enjoy life and they also seem to enjoy the people around them, too.”
The couple often hold hands in public, unlike other royal pairs, such as the Prince and Princess of Wales.
At the Cheltenham Festival, Zara and Mike were seen posing beside each other, with Zara’s arm placed around her husband’s back.
Judi continued: “Their poses here are very typically good-natured and honest.
“They pose together like a very natural couple who are still pretty deeply in love and lust.
“The balance in their signals always suggests those emotions are shared equally, as is their love of fun.”
The body language expert went on to focus on Zara’s behaviour towards her friends – she interacts with them too in a tactile, affectionate way.
“The hand-holding and the hugging seem to suggest a spontaneous desire to show affection and perhaps even a desire to signal support if necessary,” Judi said.
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Focusing on the images of Zara hugging her friend Henry de Bromhead, the expert continued: “In the hug her arm is on top, suggesting she has flung her arms open on the approach and this, with the tightness of the hug, would have signalled genuine pleasure and delight in a way that would set it apart from normal greeting rituals.
“Zara’s hugs and hand-clasps would make a person feel really cherished rather than just going through the normal social motions.
“Zara really does seem to like other people and she does really seem to love her husband.
“These touch and hug rituals make public statements in terms of bonding and friendships.
“Zara doesn’t just spend time with people, she wants to define the levels of closeness as she does so.
“The trait seems to imply high levels of loyalty, trust and easy-going openness from Zara to her friends and family.
“These qualities are rare to achieve but even rarer in our current Royal Family.”
Zara looked stunning at Cheltenham today, wearing a navy blue suit and a long, burgundy coat.
