29 November 2023 , 14:33
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Prince Harry appeared to drop a "deliberate hint" he wanted to share more about the "royal race row" but forced himself not to, a body language expert has claimed.
More than two years ago, Harry along with wife Meghan Markle sent shockwaves through the monarchy when they spoke of their disgust at "concerns and conversations" over the colour of son Prince Archie's skin in a tell-all chat with Oprah Winfrey. Meghan made the claims first while chatting to Oprah alone before Harry joined her and said a conversation took place. But when the TV host probed more, the prince refused to reveal what was said, saying he was "not comfortable with sharing that".
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their Oprah interviewIt sparked a royal race row, which has now been reignited thanks to a new book called Endgame by royal biographer Omid Scobie. The English-language version of the book does not name those in question, however, a Dutch version appears to name two people who are said to have made comments.
And when talking about the couple's racism allegations on Oprah, body language expert Judi James said she believes Harry's appearance suddenly changed when asked about the conversation. She told the Mirror: "When Meghan says the conversation was with Harry, the narrative pitches straight onto his lap, along with Oprah's questioning.
"Harry's body language mood music changes in an instant. Previously he had looked wounded and vulnerable and sounded like a victim. His eyes had been widened and his vocal trait had been one of frequent, nearly constant rising inflection, where the vocal tone rises up at the end of sentences to turn statements into questions, making many of Harry's claims sound tinged with his own sense of disbelief.
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The couple claimed there had been conversations about Archie's skin colour (Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese v)"Harry's brows are raised now but his eyes look down in a sudden cut-off ritual as though he is wanting to collude but also to collect his thoughts while hiding his initial feelings. His body language at this point suggests his memories are negative and possibly shocking as he lets out a mirthless laugh, hiking his mouth up at one side in an ironic-looking grin that hints at some kind of attempt at bravado.
"'That conversation... I am never going to share' is his verbal comment though and suddenly he is in authoritative royal shut-down mode. He looks back at Oprah and when she asks him to tell what the question was he says 'No', closing his eyes and shaking his head to imply firmness. His eye contact looks strong now, with a narrowed eye expression and a slight frown as he tells Oprah 'I’m not comfortable sharing that'.
"The brief, mirthless laugh does look like a deliberate hint or clue that there's more to tell if he had chosen to, though."
Last night it was confirmed that the new royal book was being pulled from shelves in the Netherlands amid reports it named a member of the monarchy said to have raised questions about the skin colour of Archie before he was born.
Xander Uitgevers, which has published the Dutch-translated version of Endgame, by US-based British journalist Omid Scobie, said on Tuesday it was “temporarily withdrawing” it from bookshops in the country. It added in a statement on its website: "An error occurred in the Dutch translation and is currently being rectified."