“Tender touches”: how Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle express affection to their husbands

Two popular members of the British royal family have similar body language tendencies. Meghan Markle isn’t limited to protocol when communicating with Prince Harry. But Kate Middleton has been allowing public displays of her feelings for Prince William more and more recently.

Both royal women are tactile, they are loving wives for the queen’s grandchildren. “Meghan is known to be less shy about showing her relationship with Harry. If they’re not hugging or holding hands in public, you can often see them using gentle touches to signal affection,” explained body language expert Judy James.

One example of the couple’s willingness to engage in public displays of affection was at the 2020 Invictus Games opening ceremony on 16 April 2022. Meghan introduced Harry on stage and the pair shared a kiss before returning to their seats. The Duke of Sussex then opened his speech by thanking Meghan, calling her “my love” before welcoming everyone to the opening ceremony.

Kate and William have never been so open about their public displays of affection. According to Judy, they have been relaxing more and more recently. “Kate was more relaxed in her gestures with William, but her relationship with him was again constrained by royal protocols. This meant that no touching, hugging or shaking hands was the norm,” Judy said.

Both Harry and William are members of the royal family, but their roles in the family are different. Harry officially retired as a current member of the Royal Family in March 2020. William is the future King of Great Britain. However, Meghan and Kate share one gesture of affection and support for their husbands.

“Both Kate and Meghan share a penchant for light touches or pats on the back, which can often come across as almost maternal gestures of support and affection for their husbands. This is a much more spontaneous and permanent feature for Meghan than for Kate,” Express quotes the specialist.

The other day, Kate was spotted placing her hand on William’s lower back during the Earthshot Awards in Boston. “It’s a leadership gesture that shows the Princess of Wales is becoming a major force in both her own family and the royal business,” James added.