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BEHIND THE SMILES
Kate & William make bold ‘announcement’ with ‘powerful signal’ in Christmas card photo, a body language expert claims
The family opted for a black and white photo this year for a particular reason apparently...
The Prince and Princess of Wales's 2023 Christmas card has been released and a body language expert has spotted a “powerful signal” they are displaying.
The Wales’s appear in a black and white photograph, which is a far cry away from previous years' Christmas card offerings.
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The family of five are seemingly all wearing white shirts and dark jeans, looking relaxed and smiling at the camera.
Body language expert Judi James analysed the image and gave her thoughts exclusively to The Sun.
The styling
Judi first noted how the "monochrome photo might not suggest a typical Christmas look".
But there "is a very powerful signal that the Prince and Princess of Wales, and their three children" are ";announcing".
And that is "the fact that they are a very cool and a very unbreachable family unit".
“The strong sense of tight, loving ‘uniformed’ grouping and the stark monochrome, plus the relaxed and confident body language looks like the emotional equivalent of them having a moat and drawbridge around them.”
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Judi continued: “We’re being shown the strength and total confidence of the pared-down family brand here, without all the trimmings and trappings of their royal status.
“We know they look superb in formalwear and royal regalia but this is the casual and much more relatable version and if anything it proves they’ve got the charisma with or without the diamonds and medals.
They are a very cool and a very unbreachable family unit
Judi James
“The casual jeans and white shirts look effortlessly cool on all of them and the simple ‘uniform’ signals teamwork and group resilience.
“Within the ‘brand’ though their body language defines them as five individual personalities,” she noted.
“Each one of them wears a different smile and their poses hint at a slow but seismic movement in the power balance, just like any other close and loving family when the children start to grow up.”
Charlotte 'placed and looking like the late Queen'
Judi noted Princess Charlotte’s position within the photo and commented: “Previous Christmas cards have shown poses that have been built around William.
“Here though it seems to have been built around Charlotte.
“Sitting in the middle of the pose while the others stand she looks confident, relaxed and elegant.
“If you took the others out of the pose she would still make a congruent photo.”
Judi noted "her gleaming eye-smile and symmetric mouth smile" which could suggest "authentic happiness".
She added: "But there is also a subtler and more poignant factor about the way the group have gathered around the daughter on a chair.
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“Charlotte looks so much like the late Queen and this central status-rich pose and beautiful smile are like echoes of Elizabeth when she was young.
“This effect doesn’t look deliberate but it is still a rather moving message from this family Christmas card.”
'Proud' William and 'grinning' Louis
The expert spotted “Prince William’s head-tilt" which "suggests a desire to be liked".
She added: "His smile and his pose have the look of a proud dad who is happily beginning to be pushed to the back row as his three more independent children take to the front.
“He still has a hand on Prince Louis’s shoulder but his youngest son’s grin here suggests he will be needing less and less protection from his dad as time goes on.”
Kate with a 'perfect' smile
Judi looked at the Princess of Wales in the image and noted: “Kate leans into William’s torso to make this a subtly romantic pose too though.
“Her perfect, Duchenne smile looks more confident than William’s and with her husband on one side and son George leaning in on her torso on the other, the sense of unity and loving continuity looks strong.”
George showing his 'own identity'
As for the future heir, Judi said: “Prince George’s pose makes him look at his most relaxed and grown-up to date.
“He is smiling but he’s not following the group norm with a teeth-baring smile.
“This is one of the first poses where he has begun to look like very much his own young man with his own identity rather than William’s mini-me."
Judi opined: "George’s best smiles have been photographed by his mother and he has tended to look a little uncomfortable in formal poses.
"But here he has one hand slung casually in his pocket and his smile is shown in his eye expression, with a soft, closed-lip mouth smile,” she concluded.
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