A body language expert has revealed that Prince Harry collapsed ‘like a souffle’ after Meghan Markle continuously interrupted him during an interview.
In the years since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down as working royals, the couple have done countless interviews together, most of which have an overarching theme.
During their joint conversations, it is common for Meghan to take the lead and often speak over her husband while answering the interviewees questions.
On most occasions, the dutiful Harry bites his tongue and sits back while his wife answers the questions but during a 2023 roundtable discussion the duke’s mask slips slightly and he looks visibly frustrated by Meghan’s interruption.
This surprising moment took place while Harry and Meghan were on a visit to Marcy Lab School in New York City to promote education and mental health.
In the clip, the Duchess of Sussex can be seen repeatedly talking about the importance of education while Harry struggles to get a word in edgeways before giving up and letting Meghan speak.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, body language expert Judi James claims that Meghan’s behaviour here is ‘one of the biggest causes of public rows or bickering between couples’.
She said: ‘Interrupting each other indoors can pass for an enthusiastic desire to communicate casually and spontaneously, but when one interrupts the other when they are in public, at a social or business event, it can look or feel rude, status-lowering and demeaning.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle speaking at Marcy Lab School in New York City. According to body language expert Judi James, Harry ‘collapsed like a souffle’ after Meghan repeatedly interrupted him
According to Judi, the Duchess of Sussex is a more ‘compelling speaker’ than the duke
‘Long-term couples usually have a choreographic solution which is the use of non-verbal tie-signs that will announce a desire to speak or join in and then an acceptance or ‘hold on’ response from the speaker to help avoid clashes.’
Judi explains that couples often have ‘a choreographic solution which is the use of non-verbal tie-signs that will announce a desire to speak or join in’.
These can include ‘a small touch or slight change of posture, but the important thing is it won’t interrupt the flow of the one speaking’, she said.
But Harry and Meghan do not seem to be fans of this technique.
Judi continues: ‘Meghan seems happy to use more visible and less subtle pats, touches, strokes and steering gestures to message to Harry in public, or she does what we can see here, which is to just jump in and take over.
‘Meghan is clearly the more engaging and compelling speaker, which means that what we also see here is her taking over from Harry to then raise the pace of the communication; add energy, and to speak in a more powerful, engaging way.
‘This can feel like a criticism to the person being interrupted. She also jumps in with her choice of high-impact, summarizing word: “education”, which makes it sound as though Harry’s words lack clarity.’
However, as Judi points out, the changes in body language during these interruptions are very visible.
‘Harry is very active as he speaks and more in charge of the messaging. He digs into his points with emphatic hand gestures, using two clawed hands to make them. His non-verbal showboating here gets to the point where he is smiling and with his head turned away from Meghan, in full flow.
When Meghan interrupts Harry for the second time he ‘appears to detach from the conversation’
‘With Harry looking away he has no opportunity to see any intentional signals from Meghan so that her interruption seems to come as something of a shock. His head flicks round and his left hand is left hanging in the air as she speaks.
‘She gives him no opportunity to accept, reject or even plan for her interruption, he is just left in a truncated pose.
‘Here Harry copes by looking up with an eyelid flutter and what looks like a micro-grimace, which could look to her like a ritual of assessment or even disagreement.’
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To keep attention on herself, Meghan then ‘performs a wide, gracious smile at their audience.’
Harry is then interrupted by Meghan again and this is when the prince ‘appears to detach from the conversation’.
Judi said: ‘In the second interruption we can see Harry’s body language collapse like a souffle, and she holds her hands out to speak while he is in mid-flow again as she takes over with her dominant word: “education”.
‘This is where she ups the pace and the energy to engage and take the attention from him to her. Harry’s response here is a cut-off ritual where he touches his nose, effectively hiding his facial expression and response. We can see he looks down though, stretching and then pursing his lips.
‘The way Harry closes down and then appears to detach from the conversation when Meghan interrupts make the interruptions look worse here.
‘If he grinned or nodded in a “baton-passing” gesture it would look more synchronized and congruent, but his response here looks less than amused, possibly also prompted by his royal status that might have led to an expectation of undivided attention on visits and gigs.’
The couple were at the school in October 2023 ahead of their appearance at New York City’s Hudson Yards for the Archewell Foundation Parents’ Summit: Mental Wellness in a Digital Age.
The Marcy Lab School, which aims to prepare ‘young adults of color for rewarding, wealth-generating careers in the tech sector’ within just one year of education.
It has previously been touted as an ‘alternative to college’.
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