Lady Louise Avoids ‘Royal Smile’ and Hints at Future Plans
TL;DR:
- According to a body language expert, Lady Louise hasn’t used the “royal smile,” suggesting plans for a “more normal life.”
- The 19-year-old also appears “confident” with a hand gesture.
- Lady Louise doesn’t use royal titles and isn’t expected to grow up to perform royal duties.
While some Britsh royals regularly show off “royal smiles” — ahem, Prince William and Kate Middleton — Lady Louise Moutbatten-Windsor doesn’t. According to a body language expert, it’s “always” hinted at what the future holds for Queen Elizabeth II’s 19-year-old granddaughter.
Lady Louise doesn’t exhibit ‘traditional rituals of royalty’ in her body language
Louise isn’t one to put a “royal smile” on her face or hand gestures associated with the British royal family. According to body language expert Judi James, their absence has “always” hinted at a life outside royal duties.
“Louise hasn’t used some of the more traditional rituals of royalty like the royal smile and this has always suggested that she plans to take the option of a more normal life,” James said (via Express).
Like her mother, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Louise, James noted, “seems able to switch from a more elegant mode for royal events to ‘normal family mode.’” Along the way, she maintains “looks of approachability and warmth that her mother is known for.”
Louise is a link in a ‘chain of support’ with ‘contagious’ confidence
James continued, explaining how the “signals of confidence also look contagious.”
Louise, she said, “will always appear to be checking her younger brother [James, Viscount Severn] is also able to relax and feel comfortable in public.”
Checking on her 15-year-old brother “seems to make her part of a chain of support as we would often see her mother using subtle touches of reassurance on Louise when they have more public appearances to make.”
Louise’s clasp of the hands looks ‘elegant’ instead of ‘protective’
While some royals have shown signs of inner anxiety or a desire to hide themselves at public events, Louise, James shared, is especially subtle. She might create a “barrier gesture” with her handbag.
Although, as the body language expert pointed out, the English major at St. Andrew’s University — the Prince and Princess of Wales’ alma mater in Scotland — goes another way.
“She seems to use a more trained-looking and more confident gesture of having her hands clasped lightly in front of her torso,” James said. Referring to the movement as a “‘ballet clasp,’” the expert noted it skews “elegant rather than self-protective.”
Like some of the queen’s other grandchildren, Louise — and her brother, James — don’t use His/Her Royal Highness titles. Additinally, they don’t have the expectation of becoming “working” royals as adults.
Sophie told the Sunday Times in June 2020 she and her husband, the Earl of Wessex, “try to bring them [Louise and James] up with the understanding that they are very likely to have to work for a living. Hence we made the decision not to use HRH titles.”
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
