An expert has suggested that the Christmas card of Prince William and Kate Middleton reveals a lot about the divide between the Waleses and the Sussexes.
The Prince and Princess of Wales delighted their followers by posting their 2024 festive card on social media this week, featuring a charming picture of them with their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
The photo was taken from touching footage released in September, where Kate announced she had completed her chemotherapy treatment and was now focusing on “doing what I can to stay cancer-free”.
This official card was unveiled just days after Harry and Meghan shared their own holiday card, providing a rare look at their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, the Mirror reports.
Six photos were included, one of which showed the Sussexes welcoming their little ones with open arms for a hug. However, despite both cards showcasing heartwarming family moments, body language expert Judi James believes the two releases “could hardly be more opposite in terms of sentiments and composition”.
Speaking to the Mirror about Harry and Meghan’s card, she said: “Harry and Meghan’s card was primarily corporate, a ‘Round Robin’ update on the duo’s best bits of the year with each carefully selected and collected pose and each photo looking like a PR exercise to show them in their ideal state in terms of glitteringly successful, caring, loving, passionate and global.”
Judi went on: “It is us gazing at them rather than a personalised message of good tidings with them looking at the camera and therefore us. This creates a state of admiring them from a distance rather than knowing them or feeling warm bonds.
“Their picture with their children sees Archie and Lilibet from back view only and shot from the kind of distance that makes it look ironically like a paparazzi photo. Their message is one of indulgent, besotted and very even-balanced parenthood but there is no attempt to share their children with the public here.”
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However, Judi believes that the message conveyed by William and Kate’s card is vastly different. She added: “With William and Kate’s card we have a facing the camera, close up view of what looks like very open and honestly shared emotions from both parents and children. This is the family image we saw in Kate’s video update of her illness and the body language here is nuanced and complex enough to gently hint at everything they have been going through.
“Charlotte is seen with protective arms around her mother and brother, almost clinging them together. William holds his arm around Louis, but his hand is gently cupping Kate’s thigh. Kate’s rituals also look protective as she places one arm around her children with the other reaches for her husband and younger son.
“Their smiles reflect a poignant happiness rather than a jolly, playful mood. Kate’s tilted head and tempered smile tells us all we need to know about her emotions at the moment.”
A body language expert noted the difference in approach between the two royal couples, saying: “While Harry and Meghan have quite understandably decided to create a distance in terms of family reveals and allow their desire for privacy to dominate the photo they chose, William and Kate seem to have treated the public like members of their own family and shared their smiles and emotions with us.”
This observation comes after the Prince and Princess of Wales unexpectedly skipped the pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace. The couple and their three children were expected to attend, but it was announced at the last minute that they would be absent.
A royal source explained that the family is already in Norfolk, as planned, and is looking forward to spending Christmas with the rest of the Royal Family at Sandringham. Meanwhile, Prince Andrew was also absent from the lunch, likely due to the ongoing controversy surrounding his relationship with alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo.
However, his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, were in attendance. It appears unlikely that the Sussexes will travel to the UK for Christmas and will instead spend the holiday season in California.
Meghan has given a glimpse into the Sussex family’s Christmas plans. The duchess let slip about her love for the festive period when she recently hosted a dinner for Afghan women who have relocated to California, supported by a cause dear to Meghan’s heart – the Welcome Project.
The special meal took place ahead of Thanksgiving, which is widely seen as the start of the holiday season in America. During the event, covered by Marie Claire magazine, Meghan expressed how “every year it gets better” with Archie and Lilibet growing up, now aged five and three respectively.
In terms of Christmas celebrations, Meghan highlighted that she ensures their family time is filled with excitement, stating: “Like any other family you spend time having a great meal and then what do you do? Play games, all the same stuff, someone brings a guitar-fun.”
She also emphasized the importance of tradition for her children, such as sharing recipes during Thanksgiving and leaving out carrots for Santa’s reindeer on Christmas Eve.
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