Body Language Expert Claims William and Kate’s PDA Signals ‘Honest Intensity’

The Daily Mail has published another breathless analysis of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s relationship, this time with body language expert Judi James claiming that the couple’s recent public embraces reveal “the honest intensity of their feelings for each other.” According to the piece, the Waleses have become more relaxed about public displays of affection since Kate’s cancer diagnosis, with the princess’s Three Peaks Challenge and recent polo and Wimbledon appearances offering “glimpses” into what the couple has “previously been hiding behind closed doors.”

But the framing is telling. The same expert who interprets every restrained interaction between William and Kate as evidence of a profound private bond routinely describes Harry and Meghan’s natural affection as calculated, attention-seeking or performative. Affection is apparently authentic when the Waleses display it awkwardly, but inauthentic when the Sussexes show it comfortably.

According to body language expert Judi James, it was a moment that offered a ‘glimpse’ into ‘the honest intensity of their feelings for each other’ and what they have previously been hiding behind closed doors.

She told the Daily Mail: ‘Their rituals suggest there’s been no real change in the intensity of their love for one another; what’s happened is they have finally felt safe enough to trust enough (not each other but the public and the press) to show it.’

However, while Kate and William may have increased their acts of PDA, these are ‘performed exclusively for each other, with the world being allowed to have a glimpse’.

She added that, in contrast, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s instances of PDA ‘tend to be display rituals to show the world how in love and close they are’.

The Daily Mail

When Sussex Affection Becomes Evidence Against Them

This is the problem with royal body-language commentary. The same experts who interpret every restrained interaction between William and Kate as evidence of a profound private bond routinely frame Prince Harry and Meghan Sussex’s natural affection as calculated, attention-seeking or inappropriate. Apparently, affection is authentic when the Waleses display it awkwardly, but performative when the Sussexes show it comfortably.

The pattern is well established. When Harry and Meghan held hands during their 2017 engagement announcement, James described Meghan as the more dominant partner, framing their dynamic as a “role reversal.” During their 2022 New York appearance, she said Harry showed “high-level nervousness and tension” while Meghan appeared calmer and more controlling. On their 2024 Colombia trip, she claimed Harry was deliberately “status-lowering” himself so Meghan could receive more attention. At the 2025 Invictus Games, she described Meghan’s affection as “swoony-in-love” yet simultaneously a deliberate public projection, kisses and face-touching that communicated ownership, hero worship and a possible attempt to prove their happiness publicly.

By contrast, James has described Meghan’s presentation as “slightly defensive,” suggested she projects a misunderstood or guarded tone, and characterised the couple’s LA wildfire visit as behaving like an American version of royalty with a deliberately regal presence. When Harry appears without Meghan, she claims he looks more comfortable. When they appear together, she finds evidence of control, performance or strategic intent. Yet William and Kate’s restrained, sometimes awkward interactions are repeatedly elevated into a grand romance.

Final Thoughts

The press also seems incapable of praising William and Kate without dragging Harry and Meghan into the story. That constant comparison does not project confidence. It makes the entire exercise look desperate. A genuinely convincing relationship would not need tabloid writers to explain, frame by frame, why the public should believe the couple enjoys being together.

These public moments also complicate the fantasy the press is selling. Kate has reached for William’s hand, only for him not to return the gesture immediately. There have been occasions when he has walked ahead, appeared impatient or seemed emotionally distant. None of those brief clips proves what happens inside their marriage, but neither do a few carefully selected hugs prove overwhelming passion.

That is why these PDA articles feel so artificial. They take ordinary, sometimes uncomfortable interactions and inflate them into a grand romance, while dismissing the Sussexes’ visibly warmer dynamic as a manufactured “love story.” The conclusion is selected first, and the so-called expert analysis is then arranged around it.

William and Kate may be perfectly content in private. The public cannot know that from a photograph. What we can see is a media machine working unusually hard to convince us that every brief touch contains hidden intensity. When a marriage requires this much editorial interpretation, the headlines begin to reveal more about the press than they do about the couple.