MEGHAN Markle looked ‘nervous’ as she made her first TV appearance since her bombshell Oprah interview, body language expert Judi James said today.
The Duchess of Sussex, 39, spoke about issues concerning the Covid pandemic at the Vax Live concert – but appeared unusually nervous and did not gesticulate as much as usual.
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Meghan, who is expecting her second child, acted as a campaign chair of the event to support the global vaccination effort with Prince Harry.
Speaking via a video message, she said: “The past year has been defined by communities coming together tirelessly and heroically to tackle Covid-19. We’ve gathered tonight because the road ahead is getting brighter.”
But Judi said the Meghan who appeared on the screen looked “nervous” – and “regal” in the “style of the Queen”.
And she even said Meghan sitting on a bench could have been a nod to her soon-to-be released kids’ book The Bench.
“With the bench she was sitting on looking suspiciously like a plug for her new book, Meghan’s body language at the start looked as serene and static as the large cushion beside her, but with a small self-comfort thumb-rub gesture to suggest some inner nerves, too,” Judi said.
“Hers was a floral-clad, maternal-looking charisma, low on passionate gesticulation and high on kind smiles and bump-cupping.
“The regal note appeared verbally too as she sat, upright and elegant, to refer to ‘My husband and I’ in the style of the Queen, but that cupping gesture that she had also used on Oprah, reminded us of her theme about daughters and woman of the future.
“Her hands were lightly clasped rather than actually cradling.”
She said Meghan’s speech was not typical of the style we’ve seen her speak in previously.
“Meghan’s rather static delivery did lack her usual cues of passion for her causes and it did look more ‘guru’ than political leader – although she appeared to become more comfortable as the speech progressed.
“It was during the last segment that the camera moved into close-up and she performed a micro-wriggle to suggest she was settling into her more normal, persuasive style of delivery. Her smile intensified, with a puckered corner of her mouth suggesting she had begun to enjoy herself.
“Overall, there were some sign of nerves and body language tension, with a regal, careful look at the start but as she warmed to her theme the slightly more relaxed and eloquent non-verbal signals took over and her signature persuasive style returned.”
Judi compared Meghan’s style to Prince Harry’s. “Harry [was] taking care of the rock-star vibe, getting cheered and screamed at as he strode about the stage,” she said. “But Meghan’s video found her still sitting in a garden setting as though she had barely moved on from the Oprah interview.”
During the speech Meghan, who looked smart in a red floral shirt dress, also spoke about her pregnancy as she cradled her bump.
She said: “My husband and I are thrilled to soon be welcoming a daughter.
“It’s a feeling of joy we share with millions of other families around the world. When we think of her, we think of all the young women and girls around the globe who must be given the ability and the support to lead us forward.
“Their future leadership depends on the decisions we make and the actions we take now to set them up, and set all of us up, for a successful, equitable, and compassionate tomorrow. … We want to make sure that as we recover, we recover stronger. That as we rebuild, we rebuild together.”
Meghan also slammed the “surge in gender-based violence” and “new obstacles that “have reversed so much progress for women in the workplace”.
She claimed the world is at an “inflection point for gender equity” told viewers that “women, and especially women of colour, have seen a generation of economic gain wiped out”.
The duchess added: “But if we work together to bring vaccines to every country and continent, insist that vaccines are equitably distributed and fairly priced, and ensure that governments around the world are donating their additional vaccines to countries in need, then we can begin to fully rebuild.
“Not only to restore us to where we were before, but to go further, and rapidly advance the conditions, opportunity, and mobility for women everywhere.”
The Vax Live concert – hosted by Selena Gomez – saw acts such as Foo Fighters, Jennifer Lopez and H.E.R perform at the Lo-Fi stadium in LA.
It was Meghan’s first TV appearance since her and Harry’s sensational interview with Oprah in March.
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