Prince William and uncle Andrew's 'very frosty' moment at Duchess of Kent's funeral
Andrew made a rare public appearance on TuesdayPrince William and his uncle, Prince Andrew, appeared to have an “awkward” moment together at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral, according to a body language expert.
The Duchess of Kent’s funeral took place on Tuesday (September 16) at Westminster Cathedral.
Prince William, 43, and his wife Kate, Princess of Wales, were in attendance amongst other senior royals.
Royals who attended the Duchess of Kent’s funeral
Members of the royal family attended the funeral of Katharine, Duchess of Kent, in London.
The duchess died at the age of 92 on September 4. She was the wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Amongst the royals in attendance were King Charles, Prince William, Kate, Princess Anne, and Prince Andrew.
Queen Camilla pulled out of attending the funeral at the last minute. She was “recovering from acute sinusitis”.
In a statement, the palace said: “With great regret, Her Majesty The Queen has withdrawn from attendance at this afternoon’s Requiem Mass for The Duchess of Kent as she is recovering from acute sinusitis.
“Her thoughts and prayers will be with The Duke of Kent and all the family.”
Prince Andrew and William’s ‘frosty’ exchange
Following the service, Prince William was seen stood next to his uncle Andrew outside the cathedral.
The Duke of York, who stepped down from royal duties in 2019, was seen speaking to his nephew.
However, William seemingly declined to engage in conversation with Andrew, opting to simply nod in reply.
‘A very frosty transaction’
Speaking to the Daily Mail, body language expert Judi James claimed that there appeared to be a degree of “awkwardness” between the pair.
She said: “The Duke of York tries to engage his nephew in a good-humoured chat and all William’s non-verbal responses suggest awkwardness and a subliminal desire to reject the overtures, making this look like a very frosty transaction.
“Andrew turns his head fully towards William to not only get his attention but seeming to want to coax a mirrored response that shows he has his attention, too. When he turns his face to the front he is wearing a smug-looking smile and he even turns back as though trying to gain a mirrored response from William.”
Degree of ‘awkwardness’ between William and Andrew
Judi then went on to say that William used a series of body language signals to indicate that he didn’t want to speak to his uncle.
“Firstly he barely inclines his head in Andrew’s direction and then he seems to avoid eye contact, looking down or away. There is the very exaggerated and prolonged rubbing of his nose with his fist to form a barrier to his mouth with this ‘act of distraction’. Lastly there is a rising up then banging down onto his heels, which will often signal ‘subject closed’,” she explained.
Judi said that William is “at some pains to appear polite despite potentially feeling compromised here”. She believes the Prince of Wales was “perhaps relieved when he can return to the more solemn facial expression of mourning”.
Prince Andrew scandal
Prince Andrew has faced much scandal over the years. This was mainly due to his association with late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and allegations of sexual assault. Prince Andrew has always repeatedly denied the accusations.
In late 2019, he stepped away from public duties amid the Epstein scandal. In early 2022, he lost his military titles and royal patronages as he faced a US civil case over the sexual assault allegations.
William is at some pains to appear polite despite potentially feeling compromised here.
Then, in February of that year, the duke and his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, settled the case out of court for an undisclosed sum.
According to some royal commentators, William may want Andrew vanished from public view entirely when he becomes king.
Read more: Virginia Giuffre’s family issue plea for Prince Andrew to be ‘fully investigated’ over allegations
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