After possibly the longest nine months in history, the royal baby is finally here – and no one is more thrilled than the new dad, Prince Harry. Although the couple said beforehand that they would keep the birth private, Harry stayed true to tradition to meet the press to answer initial questions. And wow, was it amazing.
Body language experts have taken a look and have come to some interesting conclusions. “Most of his movements – shrugging shoulders, grinning smile, and rocking motions – are ‘up movements,’ which is his way to express his feelings of joy and exuberance,” says Patti Wood, body language expert and author of SNAP: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma. Sounds about right.
Throughout the entire interview, which was only around two minutes, he is rolling back and forth on the balls of his feet. “I call it ‘happy feet’ because he lifts his feet up and balances on his toes,” Susan Constantine, human behavioral expert and author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Reading Body Language, tells us. “It always happens in profound moments like when he’s revealing the baby’s gender or talking about Meghan.”
While speaking, he shrugs his shoulder, which experts usually take as a sign of uncertainty or discontent. This time, however, it apparently comes from a state of disbelief.”The rocking through the balls of his feet, shoulder shrug, and big grin happen in a cluster, which is how his excitement leaks out through his body,” Susan explains. While he may be thrilled to share the news, Harry is doing it on his own terms: “He holds his body language close to himself (think: collapsed shoulders and clasped hands), which is his way of staying very contained and respectful.”
When it comes to body language, one of the most important aspects are the hands. “He rubs his hands together with that excitement because he has extra energy,” says Patti. “People do that when they’re talking about something delicious and wondrous.” Maybe his new baby?
Amid all of the nervous energy of the moment, Patti takes notice of a moment where you can see just how overwhelmed he is about the whole situation. Around the 1:03 mark when the reporter asks him a question about the birth itself, “he bites his lip and sticks out his tongue because there was a part of the birth that was scary to him.” Even earlier when discussing how what Meghan went through is “beyond comprehension,” he pinched his eyebrows. “This indicates that he’s thinking very intently to get his point across,” Susan explains. “He’s clearly blown away by what his wife went through.”
