Prince Harry showed signs of “hurt” and “vulnerability” during his recent interview about grief, a body language expert has claimed.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, who was speaking in his role as global ambassador for Scotty’s Little Soldiers, which supports young people who have lost parents in the military, shared his own insight after losing his mother, Diana, Princess from Wales, just 12.
Speaking to FEMAIL, British communications expert Judi James explained that the interview “triggered” Harry’s “emotions of historical grief” as he listened to “the story of the death of one of his parents.”
The royal heard Nikki Scott, founder of Scotty’s Little Soldiers, recount the moment she had to tell her son, Kai, five, that his father, Corporal Lee Scott, who served in the 2nd Royal Regiment of Tanks, had been killed in Afghanistan in 2009.
“We can see five signs that Harry’s emotions of historical grief are triggered when he hears the story of a parent’s death,” Judi said.
The Duke of Sussex showed signs of “pain” during his interview with Nikki Scott, the founder of Scotty’s Little Soldiers (pictured left), a body language expert has claimed.
‘He begins by adopting a professional pose related to power and authority, which may be a self-protective gesture, as if adopting the appearance of a counselor could dampen him emotionally.
‘You sit back in the chair with your arms and legs extended instead of leaning forward to ‘get in touch’ with the pain.
However, Judi noticed signs that Harry became “triggered” by the emotionally charged interview.
She said: “We can see signs of activation quite quickly when your left hand performs a self-comforting ritual before making a fist.”
‘His leg rubbing is a self-contact gesture that seems to be aimed at calming down. She begins to bite her lower lip to suggest that tears might be building and at one point she raises her eyebrows while closing her eyes to hide her feelings.
‘Harry finally attempts to reboot his more professional sense of authority by waving his finger.
‘However, this is done right in front of his mouth, like a shield, and even that is transformed. “Praying” hand gesture that hints at her vulnerability here.
In recent years, Harry has criticized his family, claiming there was a lack of support after his mother’s tragic death in 1997, which he believes led him to repress his emotions and eventually seek therapy.
Mrs. Scott’s (pictured right) personal tragedy inspired her to create Scotty’s Little Soldiers after seeing the positive impact a family vacation had on her son.
Prince Harry has starred in a new video in which he talks about grief, urging children and young people to talk about their emotions.
Body language expert Judi James claimed Harry showed signs of “pain” and “vulnerability” during the interview.
‘It’s so easy when you’re a child to think or convince yourself… you convince yourself that the person you’ve lost loves you, or you need to be sad for as long as possible to show them that you miss them. But then there’s the realization that no, they must want me to be happy,” Harry said.
She added: “I think that’s the hardest thing, especially for kids, is, ‘I don’t want to talk about it because it will make me sad,’ but once I realise that if I talk about it, celebrating his life, then actually, things get easier.”
‘As opposed to this ‘I’m just not going to talk about it, and that’s the best way to deal with it’, when it’s really not. It may be for a period of time… you can’t suppress it forever. It is not sustainable. And it will eat you up inside.
“No one wants to be in a position where they are forced to talk about what they don’t want to talk about, especially when all the defense mechanisms in their mind, nervous system and everything else are telling them ‘don’t go there.’ ‘
The emotionally charged video was made in May when he last visited the UK and sees the prince speaking to Nikki Scott, founder of Scotty’s Little Soldiers.
Nicky told of the heartbreaking moment she had to tell her five-year-old son, Kai, that his father had been killed in Afghanistan in 2009. At the time she also had a seven-month-old daughter, Brooke.
It has been published by the charity in the run-up to Armed Forces Day on Saturday to highlight the current needs of bereaved military children in the UK.
Ms. Scott’s personal tragedy inspired her to create Scotty’s Little Soldiers after seeing the positive impact a family vacation had on her son.
Expressing his admiration for her work, Prince Harry commented: ‘What you’ve done is incredible.
“It’s truly inspiring. I feel truly honored and privileged to be a part of Scotty’s now and I really hope that we do everything we can to attract more people, more interest, raise more funds and be able to spread the message so that more children receive the support that they desperately need.”
Scotty’s Little Soldiers currently supports over 680 members and estimates that each year 2,100 children lose parents who served in the British Armed Forces.