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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been back in Britain for only a matter of weeks, yet their return has generated an almost constant stream of headlines.
Recent reports have ranged from the couple having to remove Archie and Lilibet from school and Meghan’s private phone number allegedly being exposed after she joined a WhatsApp group, to questions surrounding the Sussexes’ security arrangements. Their disagreement with King Charles over the description of Harry and Meghan as “private citizens” has also attracted significant attention.
With so much coverage focused on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the work and engagements being carried out by senior working royals have sometimes found themselves competing for attention.
Against that backdrop, body language and behavioural expert Darren Stanton believes a recent appearance by King Charles offered a very different picture, showing the monarch in surroundings where he appeared particularly comfortable.
Stanton, who has a psychology degree and previously worked as a police officer interviewing suspects before moving into media analysis, regularly comments on the behaviour of prominent public figures, including members of the Royal Family.
Analysing Charles’s September 16 visit to the Cairngorms in Scotland on behalf of Betfair Casino, Stanton told Showbiz Cheat Sheet that the King’s apparent enjoyment of the natural surroundings immediately caught his attention.
He explained: “What really stands out to me is how completely at ease the king appears to be when he’s out in nature. It’s his happy place. It is like Princess Anne or Zara when they’re around horses. We know how much he loves nature and ecology, and you can really see that reflected in his body language. There’s a genuine sense of peace about him, as though he’s in an environment where he feels completely comfortable and able to just be himself.”
According to Stanton, Charles’s physical demeanour during the engagement also appeared noticeably relaxed.
The expert continued: “His posture is very relaxed, with his shoulders down and no obvious signs of tension or stress. His breathing appears slower and more controlled, and when he’s interacting with people, his movements are calm and unhurried. There’s no sense that he feels out of his depth or uncomfortable in the environment. He looks like someone who is genuinely enjoying himself and feels very much at home.
“We also see those genuine smiles, with the crow’s feet around the eyes and clear engagement through the eyes themselves. Those are important indicators because they suggest the smiles are coming from a place of genuine enjoyment rather than simply being a social response. Even from his posture and movements, there’s a real sense of relaxation and positivity.”
Stanton also pointed to behaviours he said were notably absent during the Scottish outing. In his assessment, Charles displayed fewer of the small gestures that can sometimes be interpreted as attempts at self-reassurance.
He added: “What’s particularly interesting is the absence of some of the self-reassuring gestures we may have seen from him in the past. We might have seen more fidgeting, hands going into his jacket pockets, playing with his cufflinks or other small repetitive movements. Those types of gestures can sometimes indicate a need to self-regulate or reassure yourself in a situation. We’re not really seeing that here.
“There’s almost a sense that he doesn’t feel the need to perform or justify himself anymore. When he’s in an environment he loves, particularly surrounded by nature, he can simply be himself. I think that’s one of the biggest changes we’ve seen in his body language. There’s a much stronger sense of authenticity about him now, and when he’s in nature, that really seems to come to the surface.”
