Kate Middleton’s been said to look the “most relaxed” around her and Prince William’s youngest, Prince Louis. According to a body language expert, the reason for it could be a trick to get the 5-year-old to be “less playful.”
Kate Middleton seemingly ‘nudges’ Prince Louis ‘into being less playful’
The Princess of Wales “tends to project calm at some of the most nerve-wracking royal events,” body language expert Judi James told the U.K.’s Express. Part of the reason, James said, could be to keep her and the Prince of Wales’s youngest at ease.
Take, for instance, coronation weekend in May 2023. Kate, the body language expert noted, kept a watchful eye on Louis, subtly reminding him to keep his composure.
“Kate seems to be adept at using calming touch rituals to nudge Louis into being less playful when necessary but without appearing to tell him off,” James said, examining the royal family’s coronation balcony appearance.
It goes along with Kate’s other subtle parenting techniques such as her four-word “secret code” to get Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Louis to behave when they’re in public.
Although, as James pointed out, it’s not always foolproof. It can potentially “lead to an escalation to tears or even tantrums,” she said.
‘Tie-signs’ from Kate are another reminder to Louis to ‘keep calm’
James continued, breaking down the touches Kate appears to use to remind Louis to “keep calm.”
“Small, regular tie-signs like the back touching allowed Prince Louis to feel quite free but also reminded him to keep calm,” she explained.
According to James, not only does Kate engage in “tie-signs” but so do the rest of the family. They’re a “regular feature of the whole family group’s body language rituals,” James said.
“George even touched Louis’s back as they walked to church at Christmas,” she noted. “And Charlotte has been seen touching his arm to keep him from putting his fingers in his mouth.”
William and Kate, she continued, take it a step further combining “tie-signs” with “reward touches, patting or stroking heads too when their children have been particularly well-behaved.”
“Encouraging good behaviour is often a more effective motivator than reprimanding any naughtiness,” James added.
Louis went viral coronation weekend without a repeat of 2022’s Platinum Jubilee
Coronation weekend passed sans any of Louis’ antics that had him going viral nearly a year earlier during Platinum Jubilee festivities. Perhaps William and Kate were determined not to have a repeat?
After all, their longtime nanny Maria Borrallo escorted Louis out of the coronation for a short break before he returned in time for the carriage procession. Or maybe the 5-year-old didn’t have as much sugar, which Mike Tindall credited for Louis’ behavior at the jubilee concert.
Nevertheless, coronation weekend had Louis going viral. First, it was his yawning at Westminster Abbey. Then his facial expressions on the Buckingham Palace balcony, similar to 2022’s Trooping the Colour with Queen Elizabeth II. And, finally, his adorable reaction to eating a s’more at the Big Help Out.
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