King Charles showed signals of "inner anxiety" that prompted concern from Queen Camilla at the State Opening of Parliament today, according to an expert.
Charles, fresh from a busy two-day official visit to the Channel Islands, wore the Imperial State Crown and royal robes for the ancient occasion full of pomp and ceremony. In the House of Lords, he delivered the second King's Speech of his reign and with his appearance coming despite his treatment for cancer during a challenging year for the Royal Family. Camilla, who turns 77 today, joined her husband for the occasion sporting a dazzling diamond diadem and diamond collet necklace. According to body language expert Judi James, the royal couple showed a change in their demeanour from previous years.
She explained to the Mirror : "There are worse ways of spending a 77th birthday than rattling up Whitehall in the State Carriage to sit on a throne beside your husband as he makes his King’s Speech and Camilla’s forward-leaning posture and waves en route suggested a keen and upbeat approach to the ceremony.
"The body language between Charles and Camilla has evolved and changed a little since his illness and that change was reflected here today. Camilla used to tend to take a backseat role on formal occasions, often looking riddled with signals of inner anxiety and taking her cues from her husband’s behaviour and movements.
"Now though, she seems to have grown in terms of an air of confidence, authority and an ability to take a lead at times. She appeared here to be quite happy to greet the crowds with her own royal waves rather than waiting for Charles to wave first then mirroring him.
"Her glances at Charles, whose red-rimmed eyes did seem to suggest tiredness, suggested concern for him rather than announcing her own inner anxiety. As always recently she looked quietly determined to ensure he doesn’t overdo things or to check that he is feeling ok.
"It was Charles showing some micro signals of inner anxiety today, sucking his lips in after his first announcement and fiddling with his robes after he sat down.
"Camilla, by contrast, was able to sit very still, looking quite calm beside him. She placed her hands in the inner steepling pose that she seems to have been taught to adopt as her ‘resting between moments’ position and she stayed in this pose, projecting a calm solidity."
But despite Camilla's seeming boost in confidence, Judi added that it was still the King very much in charge of the ceremonial occasion. She added: "When the speech had been read she turned her head to watch Charles prepare to stand with a caring, nurturing glance of concern, although it was clearly still Charles in command when it came to the ceremonial choreography.
"His right hand flapped a little to show Camilla she should walk down the steps first and as he passed her on the way out, he fondly touched her hip with one hand to remind her he was going round past her to take the lead.
"Charles used less of a poker face than his mother when reading the King/Queen’s speech. The late Queen’s delivery tended to be emotionless and inscrutable, while Charles did allow for some very subtle non-verbal tells to give hints of his own enthusiasm or lack of it. The section on climate change came after a slightly longer pause and a glance at his audience before he upped his energy a little as he read it out, his shoulders seeming to shimmy slightly in a gesture of approval or suppressed enthusiasm."