Body Language Expert Compares King Charles III’s Very ‘Intimate’ 100th Birthday Card Photo to the Late Queen Elizabeth’s
Whenever a citizen in the U.K. reaches the age of 100, they receive a signed birthday card with a photograph of the reigning monarch. For 70 years, the cards featured an image of Queen Elizabeth II. Now those cards bear King Charles III‘s image. However, their portraits are very different as the new king went against what the queen did and opted for what’s been described as a “more intimate” photo.
Here’s what a body language expert noticed about Charles’ portrait compared to his late mother‘s.
Cards are sent out for more than just 100th birthdays
In addition to a 100th birthday, the cards are also sent out for 105th birthdays and every year after that. But it’s not just birthdays, the cards are also mailed to any couples celebrating their 60th, 65th, 70th or longer wedding anniversaries.
During Queen Elizabeth’s reign, the palace sent out well over a million cards to celebrate such milestones.
The difference is King Charles’ cards aren’t just a picture of him
The cards that were sent out over the last seven decades were of Queen Elizabeth alone. However, King Charles wanted a “more intimate” photo and posed alongside Camilla, Queen Consort (formerly known as Camilla Parker Bowles).
Body language expert Judi James analyzed the new photo of the king and his wife and compared it to the former royal 100th birthday card featuring Queen Elizabeth.
“There’s a huge change of message here, with Charles promoting a much more intimate, family vibe than his mother,” James told Express. “The late queen seemed to understand that people receiving her cards of 100th birthday congratulation would be her contemporaries. They had grown up together and lived through a World War and so a more formal, regal image would hit the right note.
“The late queen seemed to be eye-greeting the viewer with an even stare and only a part smile. It’s an adult-to-adult expression of respect that would be mutual.”
According to James, King Charles and the new queen consort’s photo is “more approachable-looking.”
She noted: “Their facial expressions ooze warmth and kindness, making it the kind of photo an elderly person might like to have of their own family. The status signals are less regal and more approachable-looking.”
Body language expert says the queen may have always posed alone for a ‘sentimental reason’
James opined that the queen’s choice to pose by herself all those years without her husband, Prince Philip, may have been done for a sentimental reason.
“Queen Elizabeth also poses alone to make the sentiments very mutual and perhaps because most of the recipients will be living without their own partners by this age,” James said.
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
