Queen Camilla showed her ‘inner fear’ but she and ‘authoritative’ King Charles supported each other during the state opening of Parliament, body language experts claim

Queen Camilla today showed signs of her ‘inner fear’ during the King’s first state opening of Parliament, but was emotionally supported by the ‘authoritative’ Charles, a body language expert has claimed.

Judi James, a British expert, assessed Charles and Camilla’s body language as he delivered the first royal speech in more than 70 years.

Camilla was seen grasping and unclasping her hands, which Judi says appears to be a comforting ritual that she repeats when under the pressure of public scrutiny. Her nervousness is often manifested in hand tremors, and Judi noted that clasping the hand could be an attempt to prevent that.

But Charles offered emotional support to Camilla today, stroking and caressing her hand reassuringly with his thumb.

The expert said Charles had lost most signs of “inner fear” today, which she said could be partly due to the mutual support between him and Camilla.

Camilla was seen grasping and unclasping her hands, which Judi says appears to be a comforting ritual that she repeats when under the pressure of public scrutiny.

The expert said Charles had lost most of his signs of “inner fear” today, which she said could be partly due to the mutual support between him and Camilla.

However, Judi said that when their hands parted and the king and queen had to split to sit on their thrones, it was “clear how Charles’ anxiety level took a little jump.”

The expert said this was evident because the hand Camilla was holding went straight to his chain of office and he started playing with it.

The Queen showed some of her trademark signs of “inner fear” today, Judi said.

But she noted that signals of support from Charles evoked a “subtle but permanent smile” from his wife, and resulted in a higher level of pleasure than she had experienced at the coronation.

Another sign that she was less nervous than at the coronation was that she did not groom herself or perform any control-touch rituals once she was seated next to Charles, “unlike the nervous hair-knotting and preening she did during the coronation.”

“Her silence seemed to suggest a much higher level of confidence, as if she were now adjusting to the duties of queen,” Judi noted.

Getting out of the carriage on the way to the House of Lords took ‘a long time’ for Camilla and required ‘a lot of help’ as she seemed nervous and hesitant about using the steps in her heavy dress and long train.

But Judi added that the way she lowered her handbag and maneuvered her skirt indicated she had practiced the ritual before the event.

Judi compared the King’s body language to his when he stood next to Queen Elizabeth II at her State Opening of Parliament in 2019 and said a lot has changed.

Getting out of the carriage on the way to the House of Lords took ‘a long time’ for Camilla and required ‘a lot of help’ as she seemed nervous and hesitant about using the steps in her heavy dress and long train

But Judi added that the way she lowered her handbag and maneuvered her skirt indicated she had practiced the ritual before the event.

Another sign that Camilla was less nervous than at the coronation was that she did not groom herself or perform any control touching rituals once she was seated next to Charles, ‘unlike the nervous hair patting and preening she did at the coronation’

Referring to a photo from that day, Judi said: ‘Sitting next to his mother in 2019 we can see a shy and dutiful looking man than the more authoritative king we saw today.

“He looks very much like a dutiful son who wants to do right by his mother, but without using signals of superior status or presence, unlike today when his status and leadership signals were much more emphatic.”

In his address to MPs and peers in the House of Lords this morning, he spoke of Her Majesty’s ‘legacy of service and dedication’, with his wife Queen Camilla beside him.

It was a historic and emotional moment for the king, who replaced his mother in May last year when she was struggling with mobility problems. She passed away last September.

In paying tribute to his mother, the king, who wore the imperial state crown, followed in the footsteps of the queen herself, who spoke warmly of her father when she first opened parliament in November 1952.

Comparing the King’s body language to his when he stood next to Queen Elizabeth II at her State Opening of Parliament in 2019 (pictured), Judi said a lot has changed

Referring to a photo from that day in 2019 (pictured), Judi said: ‘Sitting next to his mother in 2019 we can see a more shy and dutiful looking man than the more authoritative king we saw today’

The last King’s Speech was in 1950, when King George spoke amid Britain’s involvement in the Korean War. He was too ill to open Parliament the following year and died in February 1952, with his eldest daughter Elizabeth ascending the throne.

After praising his mother, Charles showed no hint of his own environmental consciousness as he outlined Rishi Sunak’s new legislative plan to today offer annual permits for gas and oil projects in the North Sea and the Net Zero burden on the British to light up.

Other measures announced by the King included giving police the power to enter a property without a warrant to seize stolen goods and measures to tackle the use of technology in crime, such as 3D printing templates for firearms.