Sometimes we get the Prince and Princess of Wales as a duo—and sometimes, like this week, we got Kate solo, visiting Dame Kelly Holmes. Body language expert Darren Stanton says, per The Mirror, that Kate is always “confident” at events, even without William by her side—and it’s because she is the “stronger personality” of the two.
“Kate is equally as confident on her own as she is when she is with William,” he says. “She is the stronger personality out of the two. You know someone is confident by their posture and the way they walk. Kate always springs out of the vehicle after arriving at an engagement. Her arms are often stretched out, and she has good eye contact when shaking hands with others.”
Now 12 years in to her tenure in the royal family, “You will notice that when other people meet her, they either curtsey or do a court bow, which is a sign of submission,” Stanton says. “People will also dip their heads when they meet Kate. They will make themselves lower than her and members of the royal family. That shows they are saying ‘I acknowledge your importance.’ Kate has never displayed any signs of anxiety as a result of this. She recognizes that it is one of the protocols people are instructed to do. Anyone who will be interacting with them will be briefed to curtsey or bow. But a lot of it is relaxed with Kate and William.”
Kate—a future Queen herself—is quite different than Her late Majesty when it comes to interacting with the public, Stanton says. “The Queen was not one to shake hands, but that was all chucked out of the window with them [William and Kate],” he says. “And to a large extent, we’ve seen the same happen with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. It’s why they’re so different when they present themselves in public.”
Kate chose a bright yellow blazer by LK Bennett for her engagement this week, and Stanton says “Kate looks happy and confident while also relaxed. She opted to wear yellow, which is a happy color, and this is a bit different to her usual choices as she tends to go for red, blue, white, and purple. Such a color allows her to reveal her personality a bit more, with Kate clearly comfortable in her outfit choice, as she looks relaxed. Her latest appearance shows she’s really evolved into attending engagements alone. Kate clearly has a lot of confidence and has become a natural at going to these events and meeting dignitaries on her own.”
