‘Looks like overkill’: A tense Prince William mirrors estranged brother Harry’s traits as he joins the fight for streaming supremacy

Despite their royal rift, Prince William has turned to Prince Harry for inspiration when it comes to public speaking, said a body language expert, who claimed that the future king has copied his estranged brother’s mannerisms to keep the audience engaged.

‘Expert’ Judi James based her observations on the recently released ITV documentary Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, which saw the Prince of Wales recall his first visit to The Passage homeless shelter at the age of 10 with his mother, Princess Diana, and Harry.

At the mention of his brother’s name, James said Prince William appeared tensed even though he adopted a “relaxed, low-drama air as he name-checks his brother in public for the first time in ages.” However, she said that “there is a clue to inner tension as he enunciates Harry’s name. In a bid to sound casual, he slides over it quickly, making it more of a ‘Huury’ than a ‘Harry.’”

His body language when he appears on-screen looks open and rather honest as he re-lives the past via his current delivery, sounding and looking almost like the boy he was then as he describes his thoughts and memories in detail.

Tune in to @ITV and @ITVX at 9pm tonight for the first episode of ‘Prince William: We Can End Homelessness’.

The two-part documentary follows the first year of @HomewardsUK, our ambitious five-year programme aiming to show that it is possible to end homelessness. pic.twitter.com/joyd4f8Ihe

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) October 30, 2024

James also noted that Prince William seemed to have copied Prince Harry’s manner of speaking after she saw a longer clip of the future king passionately sharing his thoughts about homelessness. “What is fascinating here is his gesticulation,” she said adding that “this is the first time we have seen William sharing the same traits as his brother.”

She explained: “Both William and Harry seem to have developed a way of speaking that is accompanied by some rapid ongoing illustrative gesticulation to define their words in a kind of mime.

Both brothers now act out every word they are saying with matching hand gestures. When Harry has been using it, it has often looked like overkill that might have been prompted by speaking to a US audience, but William is mirroring the trait here.

James added that “it’s as though both brothers feel the need to do sign language as they speak, in a bid to make their messages easier to understand. Although it is normal to speak with your hands this is a much more exaggerated version of gesticulation than most people use.” She said this manner is often adopted by speakers “when they are afraid they might lose their audience’s attention” although she believes this is hardly the case for Prince William.

It’s worth pointing out that this kind of body language analysis is entirely subjective and unscientific, so take this expert’s conclusions with a huge pinch of salt.

Despite his passion to end homelessness, some have disputed that Prince William is hardly the right person to be preaching about the homeless situation in the U.K. given his privileged status. One shared that he “simply cannot galvanize his audience at the ballot box, in the workplace, and in the wider social arena to fix this inhumane problem once and for all.” Meanwhile, another who watched the film said it was an “abject failure” in proving that it is possible to end homelessness.

Prince William: We Can End Homelessness aired on Oct. 30 and 31. It featured unseen photos from the brothers’ visit to The Passage with Princess Diana. The two-part documentary also marked the first time that Prince William mentioned Prince Harry since 2018. It’s believed that they are no longer on speaking terms after the Duke of Sussex left his royal duties and relocated to America with his wife, Meghan Markle, and their son, Archie, in 2020.