Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have had a very hectic month. Not only are they continuing to live under the cloud of having left the British Royal Family, but they also announced that they are expecting their second child.
The couple recently sat down with Oprah Winfrey for their first big primetime television interview since their acrimonious split from the royal family.
Viewers are sure to get more of an insight following the interview, but according to a body language expert, Meghan’s hand gesture shows that things are really changing in their relationship.
Here’s all you need to know!
For those interested in film and television, Meghan Markle was a very well-known person before she met Prince Harry. In fact, she had a very successful career as an actress, and pretty much her whole life has been about pursuing her big dream of working in show business.
Meghan Markle & Prince Harry
However, her life changed when she met and fell in love with Prince Harry. For the last couple of years, she’s also been known as “The Duchess of Essex”, a title she received when she tied the knot with the British prince in 2018.
The two are genuinely in love, and we sincerely hope they are very happy. Of course, their journey to get to where they are now hasn’t been all that smooth, especially since the two stepped back as ‘senior’ members of the British Royal Family last year.
Just a few days ago, Meghan and Harry spoke out about their situation to Oprah.
During the interview, Meghan’s hand gestures caught the eye of an expert, who said that this shows a dramatic change in her relationship with her husband Harry.
So why is that?
Meghan Markle – childhood
Meghan Markle was born on August 4, 1981 in Los Angeles, California.
By a young age, she was welcomed into the world of show business, and that thanks to her father Thomas Markle, an Emmy award-winning lighting director. On many occasions, Meghan got to join her father on set.
She attended the all-girls Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles, and that sure was a big contrast compared to being on set.
“Every day after school for 10 years, I was on the set of Married, with Children, which is a really funny and perverse place for a little girl in a Catholic school uniform to grow up,” she told Esquire.
“There were a lot of times my dad would say, ‘Meg, why don’t you go and help with the craft services room over there? This is just a little off-color for your 11-year-old eyes.’”
As a child, Meghan showed a great will to make a positive change in the world. By age 11, she saw a commercial for a dishwashing soap that was only aimed at women, which made her upset.
“I don’t think it’s right for kids to grow up thinking these things, that just Mom does everything,” she said.
Meghan Markle – acting career
Her father Thomas was very supportive of his daughter’s will to change things, and he helped her write to very powerful people, including Hillary Clinton, hoping they could help. Just a few days later, the company producing the soap changed their slogan from “Women All Over America” to “People All Over America”.
As Meghan was very interested in the field of show business, she went on to study communication at Northwestern University. She says she always wanted to act, but “hated the idea of being this cliché a girl from L.A. who decides to be an actress.”
Later, she moved to Illinois to double-major in both theater and international relations at the prestigious Evanston school.
Following her getting an internship at the U.S. Embassy in Argentina, Markle thought she’d head into a career in politics. However, theater was always her big dream, even if her first job in show business wasn’t really great.
Markle was auditioning for shows at the same time as she studied, but her first role was as a briefcase girl on the game show Deal or No Deal.
“I was the ill-fated number 26, which for some reason no one would ever choose,” Meghan told Esquire. “I would end up standing up there forever in these terribly uncomfortable and inexpensive five-inch heels just waiting for someone to pick my number so I could go and sit down.”
Soon after, she started appearing in several productions, landing smaller roles in films such as Get Him to the Greek and Remember Me, as well as the television series General Hospital. Everything changed in 2011, when she got the part of paralegal Rachel Zane on USA’s monster hit Suits.
Meghan Markle on Suits
With her dad having been a photography director, she got great advice from him.
“I will always find my light, no question,” she said. “And if I don’t, I’ll know, because my dad will be the first person to call me and say like, ‘You need to have him bring another 2K in,’ and ‘Why aren’t you using this sort of lighting gel?’ The crew guys know that it’s where I grew up.”
Meghan played the part of Rachel Zane on Suits until 2018. That was the year her life would again change forever when she married to Prince Harry.
Markle was actually married once before, having tied the knot with producer Trevor Engelson in 2010. The couple, however, divorced in 2013.
Three years later, she met the love of her life. In July of 2016, a friend set up a blind date between Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, and it was a smash-hit.
“I was beautifully surprised when I walked into that room and saw her,” Harry told Vogue. “I was like, I’m really going to have to up my game here.”
Meeting Prince Harry
A few weeks later, Harry took Meghan to Botswana, where their relationship really took off. And Botswana would hold special significance just a few years later, as Markle’s center piece diamond in her three-stone engagement ring actually came from the country.
“We were really by ourselves, which was crucial to me to make sure we had a chance to get to know each other,” Harry explained.
Up until this point, everything was going amazingly well regarding Meghan’s private life. She was very close with her father, all throughout her childhood, as well as through college. He he helped her pay tuition, as well as helped her land the role in General Hospital. In short, he supported her the best he could.
The wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry took place on May 19, 2018, with the service being held at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. However, due to a very complex relationship, her father wasn’t present.
People from all over the world eagerly watched the wedding. But a little more than two years later, the couple went on to do something rather controversial, at least in the royal sphere.
As of last year, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are no longer ‘senior’ members of the British Royal Family. The couple, who welcomed son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor in 2019, decided to step down from their royal duties.
Leaving the Royal British family
Prince Harry said it was mainly because he wished to build a more peaceful life together with Meghan, without journalists chasing them around – something that he’s been used to all his life.
“Following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family,” Queen Elizabeth II said in a statement.
“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family. I recognize the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life.“
She went on to say that she’s very proud of Meghan, and how she very quickly adapted into becoming a family member.
“It is my whole family’s hope that today’s agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life,” the Queen said.
Harry and Meghan no longer use the titles His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness. Just weeks ago, it was reported that Harry and Meghan had agreed with Queen Elizabeth II that they will not return as working members of the British royal family.
“Remain much loved members”
Further, their honorary military appointments and royal patronages held by the couple will be revoked and redistributed among the working members of the royal family.
However, the couple have said that they will be committed to their duties in both Britain and in the rest of the world.
In the first announcement from the palace, Queen Elizabeth had “written confirming that in stepping away from the work of the Royal Family, it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service,” the statement said. It added: “While all are saddened by their decision, the Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family.”
Meghan and Harry also released a statement through their spokesperson.
“As evidenced by their work over the past year, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the U.K. and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organisations they have represented regardless of official role,” the statement read.
Before, Meghan and Harry were limited in what they could say publicly. However, now that they won’t be returning as working members of the royal family, they can speak freely in interviews.
Meghan & Harry – Oprah interview
Last week, the couple sat down with Oprah Winfrey in their first big primetime interview since splitting from the British Royal family.
In the promo video of the interview, Oprah can be seen asking Meghan: “Were you silent or were you silenced?”, before discussing a “breaking point.”
Later on, as seen in the promo, Oprah says: “You’ve said some pretty shocking things here.”
In another clip, released by CBS, Harry spoke about his mother, princess Diana.
“I’m just really relieved and happy to be sitting here, talking to you with my wife by my side. Because I can’t begin to imagine what it must’ve been like for her going through this process by herself all those years ago,” he says.
Meghan didn’t say as much as Harry in the promotional videos of the long primetime interview.
However, body language expert Judi James claims she’s seen something very special already. It concerns Meghan’s hands, and how they apparently say a lot about their relationship.
Meghan Markle – hand gestures
Speaking to The Mirror, Judi James says that the hand gestures seen in the Oprah interview shows that Meghan appears to be confident. Harry, though, wasn’t, and needed Meghan’s support.
“I think when Meghan came to the UK, Harry very much saw himself in the role of overly protective husband that knew that all hell was going to break lose in terms of press and public interest, and was desperate to protect her – albeit that she presented herself as a very confident woman,” James explains.
Meghan and Harry held hands as they sat down and were interviewed by Oprah. The setting was very calm, with garden chairs in a beautifully landscaped garden.
Judi James says she believes “the tide has completely changed” after watching the interview. Instead of Harry being the protective husband while living in the UK, she says that it seems like Meghan has taken the role of being the rescuer and protector.
“This hand gesture that you can see, he’s got his hand on the chair and she’s placed her hand on top,” she says. “That’s almost a maternal looking gesture, it’s though it’s being used for reassurance and to let him feed off her confidence.”
“A whole new world”
Further, James claim that Meghan’s gesture shows she is confident in herself. At the same time, it’s clear that Harry isn’t as used to this kind of life as Meghan Markle is, considering she’s been in the public spotlight while working in show business before.
“Clearly she’s friends with Oprah, she’s used to being in front of the cameras she’s an actress, but to Harry this is a whole new world that he’s being judged by and being asked to perform,” Judi James explains.
We are so excited to see the full interview with Meghan and Harry. We send our best wishes to the couple – and we hope they will enjoy their new life together!
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