Princess Kate’s ‘upped her hug rate’ when out in public, expert claims

Meghan Markle claimed Kate, Princess of Wales found hugging during their first meeting “jarring” in the Netflix series Harry & Meghan. The Duchess of Sussex who described herself as a “hugger”, explained how she was unaware and “surprised” the public “formalities” of the Royal Family “carried through” to their personal lives. In recent months, Kate has been hugging several people on public engagements, and Express.co.uk spoke to body language expert Judi James about the Princess’ physical interactions.

Judi said: “It would be a shame if Kate were stung by comments about her greeting rituals in Harry’s book but her behavioural changes since the publicity for Spare suggests that she might have felt under pressure to disprove them.

“When you travel or move to a new country it’s usual and simple to check out the etiquette norms before you go, especially the greeting rituals.

“Some countries shake hands and some don’t. Some hug and others bow.

“Making assumptions about the personality of that country or an individual based on these norms is usually a mistake, as is assuming what you see as your norm is what you should naturally do to others,” she added.

“Good etiquette requires a ‘when in Rome’ approach rather than a claim of ‘this is what I do’.

“In the UK our greetings can tend to be less tactile on first meetings and there are many people who dislike hugging or any tactile approach altogether.

“We generally tend to not throw ourselves at strangers but to add warmth by degrees, which is often seen as appearing more authentic.

“So Kate’s social ‘formality’ was probably better viewed as a behavioural norm that would probably have been encouraged during her induction into royal life, rather than a sign of inner coldness,” the expert claimed.

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“It can also suggest a desire to check the preferences of the people she is meeting rather than assuming everyone she meets craves a hug.

“Kate’s recent outings do seem to suggest that she has upped her hug rate though,” Judi continued.

“Doing this involves some very complex reading of the people she meets as not everyone wants an impromptu hug, even from a royal.

“She will need to use some announcement signals first, or to show she is comfortable accepting a hug someone else might be offering,” the expert added.

“Her style of dress will also be a consideration as not all royal formal wear lends itself to leaning and hugging.

“There is also the problem that Meghan might not have been aware of: as Diana found out, once you are known as a royal who hugs everyone will want or expect a hug and this can cut into time on visits and walkabouts,” she suggested.

“Kate’s new approach to hugging looks enthusiastic and it involves a change of ritual depending on who she is meeting.

“It might look a little awkward but so do most public hugs with people you might not have seen for a long time or people you are meeting for the first time.

“When Kate hugs her old teacher in Cornwall her delight is obvious,” Judi notes. “This is a two-arm hug with one. round his neck and torso closeness. Her eyes look down, their heads are pressed close and her smile looks congruent.

“In Derby Kate performs the kind of face-to-face double arm clasp that allows for conversation as well as signals of closeness. She and Preet perform a very even-status hug that can be sustained for a longer period as they chat than the usual torso hugging.

“Kate was wearing trainers for this very relaxed visit and even pulled a tyre across the stage by a harness round her waist at one point, which shows the level of joining in she is prepared to do.

“In Wales Kate shares a hug with a small child, stooping right to ground level to do so,” the expert adds. “This is a very sweet hug that illustrates her very relaxed and natural approach with children.”

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