Meghan Markle, Prince Harry pack on the PDA in very ‘unroyal’ move
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have shared a “hectic” kiss on the dancefloor at the end of their Colombian tour as the Duchess gave a rare insight into her daughter, Lilibet.
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Meghan Markle’s kiss with Prince Harry during a dance on their last day in Colombia was “more than just a moment of Salsa-fuelled passion”, a British body language expert has claimed.
As the Sussexes concluded their quasi-royal tour of the South American nation on Sunday night local time, they thrilled onlookers with a kiss at the end of their dance in a PDA rarely witnessed among the royal family.
However, according to UK-based body language expert Judi James, there may have been more behind the kiss than the pair getting caught in the moment.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, she suggested the kiss was “bestowed” upon the prince by the Duchess as part of a “ritual” which involved “Meghan’s hands placed tenderly around Harry’s face”.
She suggested the public display of affection, which featured a series of very loved-up appearances from the couple during their Colombian tour, was a “powerful statement of gratitude” from Ms Markle to Prince Harry after the couple appeared to be a hit in the nation.
“The hands put [Meghan] in control of the brief kiss but they are also an announcement gesture to her royal husband that she is only creating a sweet touch on the lips,” James said.
“With the eyes of the world on them she might have remembered that royals traditionally only lip-kiss in public on their wedding day.”
James suggested the loved up display could have been another dig at the royal family to let them know the couple are free from royal protocol.
“This kiss looks like the frosting on the cake in terms of the ‘we’re in love’ narrative Meghan has been sending out on this very public tour, the topping-off of their PDAs at the end of a hectic-looking dance,” she said.
The kiss comes at the conclusion of the couple’s tour during which they appeared incredibly loved-up.
During their time in Colombia, the couple often held hands, shared intimate moments together and displayed affectionate body language towards each other in displays that are at odds with how other members of the royal family behave during public engagements.
MEGHAN GIVES SWEET LILIBET UPDATE
It came as Meghan gave a sweet update on her daughter Lilibet, saying the three-year-old has “found her voice” as she gave a speech about the importance of empowering young girls and women.
The Duchess was speaking at a conference about “Afro women and power” at a heavily-guarded theatre in the city of Cali on the final day of her Colombia trip with Prince Harry.
To the delight of the crowd, the accomplished Meghan opened her speech in Spanish, saying she had learnt some Spanish 20 years ago while in Argentina, where she interned at the US Embassy.
Meghan thanked Colombian Vice President Francia Marquez in her address, describing her as a “friend”.
The crowd cheered when she said: “I would like to begin in Spanish because we are in your country, my husband and I, and I can feel this embrace from Colombia.”
Afterwards, she jokingly mimed wiping sweat from her forehead as the crowd applauded before switching to English.
“I was very, very fortunate at a young age to feel as though my voice was being heard, and I think that is a luxury that a lot of young girls and women aren’t often afforded,” Meghan said, recalling how she penned a letter to have a commercial’s language changed to be less sexist at age 11.
After revealing the cute detail about her daughter Lilibet’s development, Meghan praised her mother Doria as her “role model”.
She said she had gained inspiration from “many of the strong women around me” and how this was important for young girls and women.
“I think part of the role modelling that I certainly try to do as a mother is to encourage our daughter, who at three, she has found her voice, and we’re so proud of that, because that is how we, as I was saying, create the conditions in which there’s a ripple effect of young girls and young women knowing that if someone else is encouraging them to use their voice and be heard, that’s what they’re going to do.
“And they’re going to create a very different environment than so many of us grew up in where our voices were meant to be smaller, and now in raising them, we’re changing the conditions in the environment where everyone has space to be the best version of themselves.”
Meanwhile, a judge ruling on a visa “drugs” row about Prince Harry appears to have decided the case, according to The Sun on Sunday.
Judge Carl Nichols submitted his decision to a US court in a sealed document, but sources said they understood the order was procedural rather than a judgement.
The case was brought last year by the Heritage Foundation think tank, which sued the Department of Homeland Security after it refused a Freedom of Information request to see immigration files on Prince Harry, now a US resident.
WILLIAM DOESN’T WANT HARRY AT CORONATION
Friends of Prince William have claimed he does not want his brother to come to his future coronation, as it has emerged King Charles has axed Prince Andrew’s security team.
A friend of Prince William’s told London’s The Times that, in the aftermath of the King’s coronation last year, The Prince of Wales said he wanted his own coronation to “look and feel different”.
The source revealed that as things stand, he does not want his brother at his crowning and said: “They are estranged, which is dreadfully sad.”
The friends also said Prince William and Prince Harry have not spoken in nearly two years.
Prince William’s relationship with his younger brother has remained estranged following the Prince Harry’s departure as a working royal in 2020 and his subsequent attacks on the Royal Family including the Sussexes’ sit-down chat with Oprah Winfrey and in his controversial memoir, Spare.
It comes as a royal source revealed members of the royal family worry that private conversations conducted with Prince Harry will end up in a second memoir.
Speaking to The Times, a friend of King Charles revealed: “The problem for the King and other members of the family is the worry that if they have a chat with Harry, it will end up in Spare Volume Two. How do you regain the trust? I don’t think Harry ever can.
“But from the conversations I’ve had with the King, I would never say their relationship is irreparable. The King’s capacity to forgive his son is undimmed. There are other members of the royal family who are much more weighted against Harry, that’s the problem.”
King Charles is also said to be frustrated by Prince Harry’s legal battle to get around-the-clock protection in the UK, with sources telling The Sunday Times the monarch finds the long dispute between the Prince and the Home Office “very tricky”.
A source close to the King told The Sunday Times the belief he controlled security matters was “mistaken”.
The source added: “His Majesty’s son is suing His Majesty’s government, and that is very tricky for the King.
“If they were to meet, there is a worry that son would lobby father because of the mistaken belief that the King has control over his security.
“For him not to have accepted the judgment of His Majesty’s government and courts is frustrating.”
ANDREW’S SECURITY TEAM AXED
Meanwhile, King Charles is set to axe Prince Andrew’s security detail, which has been privately funded by the King after Prince Andrew lost publicly-funded police protection in 2022.
According to The Sun, members of the security detail have been told their services will not be needed from November.
The decision has left royal insiders speculating that the controversial prince will now have to leave his home at the Royal Lodge in Windsor.
“Everyone is speculating this means the Duke will have to leave the Royal Lodge because what other reason could there be to take his security away?” a palace insider told The Sun.
“It isn’t a secret that the King wants him out.”
Earlier this year, it was reported that Prince Andrew refused an offer to move out of Royal Lodge into nearby Frogmore Cottage. The duke was said to have signed a 75-year lease on the mansion in 2003.
In January, reports suggested Prince Andrew would have to fund the multimillion-dollar security costs at Royal Lodge himself if he wanted to stay in the 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park.
Still, despite his brother cutting his security detail, Prince Andrew has joined other members of the royal family at Balmoral.
The Duke of York is thought to have joined his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, daughters Princess Eugenie and Beatrice and the wider royal family on their summer break at Balmoral.
“Andrew has hardly left Royal Lodge since Christmas so he’s very much looking forward to getting away with the rest of the family at Balmoral,” a source told The Express.
“He’s turned into a bit of a recluse, so the girls are hoping that some nice family time with [his grandchildren] will help cheer him up a bit and bring him out of his shell.”