Meghan Markle is never afraid to be tactile with her husband in public.
The Duchess of Sussex is regularly seen tightly grasping Prince Harry’s hand, or comforting him with a soft palm on his back.
Now, body language expert Judi James has revealed the deeper meaning behind the importance the couple seem to place on physical touch in public.
The Duchess uses various tactile methods to communicate with her husband and Ms James suggests this is because of their need to signal to one another.
There is the ‘double clutch’ that sees Meghan hold her husband with both hands and could be a ‘gesture of possession’, Ms James said.
And Meghan is also a fan of putting her hand on Harry’s knee, a ‘sensual’ move that Ms James said is another ‘signal of ownership’ and display of ‘physical attraction’.
Below, MailOnline reveals Ms James’ expert opinion on the couple’s most familiar tactile gestures.
Meghan Markle smiles as she touches Prince Harry’s knee during their visit to Colombia last month
The Duchess looks up as she holds her husband’s arm and hand in Colombia last month
The ‘double clutch’
The couple’s recent trip to Colombia isn’t the first time Meghan has clasped her husband’s arm and hand at the same time.
When she first performed the gesture during their engagement announcement in 2017, Judi said ‘it had and still has a multi-media message purpose’.
‘This extra clingy clutch shows a desire to keep Harry close,’ Ms James said.
Meghan holding Harry’s arm and hand in what body language expert Judi James referred to as a ‘double clutch’ during their engagement announcement in 2017
The Duchess holding Harry’s arm and hand in Colombia last month
‘In the early days it also allowed Meghan to create a self-protective “comfort barrier” with her arm held across her torso.
‘More recently though it looks like a gesture of possession or a boast of ownership, as in “He’s mine”.
‘It suggests he is her priority but it also allows for a small sensual ritual if her fingertips are touching his bare arm.’
The ‘possessive’ gesture was displayed at the ESPY Awards in July too, when the couple posed with former tennis player Serena Williams.
Meghan holding Harry’s arm and hand at the 2024 ESPY Awards with Serena Williams
The couple holding hands at an Invictus Games event in Hague, 2022
Holding Harry’s arm
When Harry takes the lead at events like the Invictus Games, Meghan seems to take a different approach to her physical contact with her husband.
She often will hold his arm, rather than his hands. Ms James said: ‘Meghan’s clutch on his bicep shows a “surrendered” approval of his manliness and strength’.
Though Meghan is letting her husband lead, the gentle touch still allows her to ‘remain part of the double act,’ Ms James added.
Harry founded the Invictus Games for wounded veterans and continues to be heavily involved.
Meghan has regularly joined her husband to the sporting events since her first public appearance with Harry in 2017, when they watched wheelchair tennis together.
Meghan holding Harry’s arm at an Invictus Games event in February
The Duchess smiling as she holds her husbands arm at an Invictus Games event in Canada earlier this year
The ‘hand sandwich’
Meghan uses both of her hands to hold one of Harry’s in another double clasp gesture.
Ms James says it is ‘the strongest form of hand linking’, giving them a ‘romantic couple’ appearance.
Ensuring they maintain how their relationship looks to the public could be important to the couple after they stepped down as working royals, and simple hand holding techniques play a part.
Ms James compared the situation to the former King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, who also left the UK after Edward abdicated from the throne.
Meghan holds Harry’s hand in hers as they meet with NATO Joint Force Command and families from Italy and Netherlands during day five of the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, Germany, September 2023
Meghan holds her fiancé’s hand during their engagement announcement at Je in 2017
She said: ‘Like Edward and Wallis there is a tendency to define and re-define their ongoing closeness and devotion to keep letting everyone know this was not a mistake.’
The body language expert dubbed the gesture as the ‘hand sandwich’.
It previously featured during their engagement shoot, where Meghan looked up at her future husband while they both grinned.
Last year, she also clasped Harry’s hand with both of hers at an Invictus Games event in Germany, when the couple met with NATO Joint Force Command and families from Italy and Netherlands.
Hands on Harry’s knee
Meghan’s use of touch to communicate with her husband, aside from a desire for proximity, could also be a display of ‘physical attraction or a more maternal type of ownership,’ Ms James said.
The Duchess will sometimes place her hand on Harry’s thigh or knee when out together, including at the ESPY Awards Ceremony earlier this year.
The couple beamed as they sat together and Meghan, wearing a long white gown, put her hand on Harry’s knee in what could be seen as an ‘intimate or exclusive’ gesture.
Meghan places her hand on Harry’s leg at the ESPY Awards earlier this year
Touching Harry’s knee or thigh ‘stamps’ the prince ‘with a signal of ownership,’ according to Ms James, while a hand on his leg or thigh ‘is a sensual move’.
It is something the Duchess has also used during Invictus Games events, including last year when they were riding in a buggy to watch the cycling in Dusseldorf, Germany.
In 2022, Meghan smiled as she placed a tender hand on her husband’s knee during an Invictus Games volleyball match while he chatted with her.
The Duchess smiles as she holds Harry’s leg while they attend a cycling event for the Invictus Games in Germany last year
Meghan smiling as she places a tender hand on her husband’s knee during an Invictus Games volleyball match in 2022
Hand on Harry’s back
Another possible maternal gesture displayed by Meghan is when she places her hand on Harry’s back.
This tactile communicative method was seen in 2018 on the Buckingham Palace balcony, after the recently-married couple had watched the RAF centenary flypast.
Both looked down while Meghan situated her hand on the centre of Harry’s back – something that Ms James said could be seen as a reassuring touch.
Meghan smiles and places her hand on Harry’s back as he hugs one of the founders of the One Young World Summit in 2022
The Duchess wraps her arm around Harry’s back as they look at flowers left in tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth on September 10, 2022
Meghan places a hand behind Harry at the Mountbatten Festival of Music in 2020
Meghan placing a reassuring hand on her husband’s back after watching the RAF centenary flypast in 2018
Since the couple moved to America in 2020, Meghan has used the gesture on several further occasions.
Ms James said: ‘It’s a steering gesture that suggests that once he was in the US she was acting in the role of host and even leader if she used it to introduce him to other people.’
The tactile signal was seen in 2022 when Meghan placed her hand on her husband’s back while he hugged one of the founders of the One Young World Summit.
Holding hands
Like many couples, Harry and Meghan also simply hold hands. But the way they position them could offer an insight into their dynamic too.
Harry’s hand often on top of his wife’s, and his arm is placed in front.
The couple have used this tactile technique for years and it was seen multiple times during their trip to Colombia more recently.
Ms James said the tactic is often used by celebrity couples.
Harry firmly placing his hand on the top in the clasp is a ‘dominant gesture’ that shows ‘a desire to be in the lead and to be seen as protective of her’.
The couple holding hands and smiling during their trip to Colombia in August
Harry’s hand is placed on top of Meghan’s and his arm in front as they walk in Bogota, Colombia
