Prince Harry awkwardly made an “ignore” gesture towards his estranged older brother Prince William when they both attended the Coronation in May 2023, according to an expert.
In the build up to the Coronation there was much discussion over whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would attend, as it was confirmed they were both invited.
Ultimately Harry attended without Meghan Markle, who stayed home in California with their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
For the service Harry sat in the third row, two rows behind William and Princess Kate, close to his cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie with whom he entered Westminster Abbey with.
Body language expert Judi James claimed that when William and Kate walked past to their seats, Harry caught his brother’s eye and performed an “ignore” gesture.
Ms James told The Mirror: “Harry performed what looked like an oddly-timed act of ignore or attention diversion as his father, brother and sister-in-law walked in a procession in front of him.
“Harry had been chatting animatedly to Edoardo [Mapelli Mozzi, Beatrice’s husband], jerking a thumb over his shoulder at one point, sharing a giggling laugh that seemed to involve his tongue placed between his teeth, and then doing a mutual, mirrored eye gaze with a matching lip clamp smile to Edo that seemed to signal mutual sympathy or empathy.
“Harry was looking up as Charles, William and Kate arrived to walk past but after looking at his father, Harry turned his head to speak to Eduardo again in a very odd way at a crucial point in the ceremony when all eyes and attention were on Charles and William’s arrival.”
The relationship between Harry and William remains at rock bottom despite their previous closeness, with Harry even accusing his brother of physically attacking him in his memoir Spare.
At a time when William will be needing support it seems Harry’s absence is notable, particularly as William has felt the pressure of dealing with both the King’s and Kate’s cancer diagnoses.
Royal author Andrew Morton told OK! magazine: “In the old days it would have been Harry [that William leant on], so it’s difficult to know who.
“Certainly he needs all the support he can get as would any father who’s trying to bring up three boisterous kids with a wife who’s ill.”
