Prince Harry's body language 'betrays lack of confidence' as repeated action gives it away
Prince Harry's body language 'betrays lack of confidence' as repeated action gives it away
Robin Cottle Mon, July 20, 2026 at 1:58 PM UTC
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Prince Harry spoke at the TIME100 Sports Gala -Credit:Variety via Getty Images
It's been a whirlwind month for Prince Harry. He traveled back to the UK where he rallied support for the Invictus Games, suffered a setback in his ongoing legal battle with the media and brought Meghan Markle and their children together with his estranged father, King Charles.
Upon his return to the United States, Harry appeared solo at the TIME100 Sports Gala in New York City, where guests included basketball legend LeBron James and Olympic skier Lindsay Vonn. Harry was once more championing the Invictus Games, but despite his polished presentation, an expert suggests the former working royal's body language revealed something different.
Experts estimate that over half of all communication is non-verbal, and Harry's signals indicated a "lack of confidence" during his "uncomfortable" speech. This assessment comes from recognized body language expert Scott Rouse, who has worked with the FBI, Secret Service and U.S. Military Intelligence. Scott points out that Harry exhibited several telltale signs of insecurity while addressing the crowd, particularly his "lip compression." He explained on his YouTube channel: "We see lip compression, this happens almost every time he finishes one of his points." It came just moments before Harry called out an audience member with a tense 7-word exchange.
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Scott also observed that Harry repeatedly stepped backward on stage, which he suggests indicates uncertainty about what he's expressing. Scott toldthe Express: "This is classic Harry giving a speech, he'll step forward as he's saying something, then he takes that big step back. That normally shows a lack of confidence, we're probably going to see that a whole lot more.
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"He's trying to make a profound statement like the British Army made him who he is. It just looks a little bit weak to me because he just backs up.
An expert spotted some cues that Harry was lacking in confidence -Credit:Getty Images for TIME
"He backs up as he starts a statement (about his war experiences) and his hand goes in his pocket. When we hide our hands or thumbs, that lets everyone know that our confidence is really low. He's backing up almost the whole time, and then what do we see again, lip compression."
Harry was also flying solo at the event, without Meghan Markle, after she and the kids had traveled to the UK to attend the meeting with Charles and Queen Camilla.
Scott quipped that perhaps Meghan is the "secret power" behind his confidence. Beyond the lip compression and concealment of his hands, the expert identified additional signs pointing to Harry's lack of self-assurance.
Prince Harry's body language betrayed his lack of confidence, an expert claimed -Credit:Getty Images for TIME
He continued: "A few things going on here, you see that big kick come out. It's one of his signature moves, we've seen it plenty of times before. That suggests he's trying to show he has confidence. Confidence enough to stick his leg out there and move forward.
"His elbows are close to his side, they're close to his torso. Most of the time you see that when someone is lacking confidence, like in a situation like this."
It comes after Harry's "lowest of the low" dig at Kate Middleton that left Prince William "furious."
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
