When the so-called ‘Fab Four’ gathered for their on-stage debut in February 2018, the royal quartet were met with resounding applause.
Less than three months before Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle, the couple strode out with Prince William and Kate to announce their collective plans for the Royal Foundation’s future.
But the interview may also have subtly foreshadowed Harry and Meghan’s impending royal exit, according to body language expert Judi James.
Addressing the royal foursome about their mental health campaign, BBC journalist Tina Daheley, who was chairing the first and only Royal Foundation Forum, said: ‘It sounds like you’re planning Heads Together part two.’
This mention of future collaboration between Harry and his bride and William and his wife prompted the Duke of Sussex, now 41, to pull a face.
The grimace seemed to ‘suggest some doubt or a sense of trepidation about collaboration again’, claimed Ms James, saying it made him appear ‘like the boyband member you might be expecting to forge a solo career.’
She added: ‘William, Kate and Meghan all fall inside the social norms in terms of these signals of group agreeability and assent, but Harry appears to be working and communicate with a different audience in this clip, i.e. his fans sitting in front of him.
‘The comic intent is there too although in retrospective context it does look more telling.’
During the first Royal Foundation Forum, Harry, now 41, made a facial expression of feigned disdain (pictured) when asked a ‘part two’ of the Heads Together mental health campaign
Analysing the moment Harry pulls the ‘exaggerated expression’, Ms James noted that the prince ‘performs a reflective gesture of denial’ as his ‘mouth slews, pulling hard to one side in a grimace and there is an eyebrow flash’.
‘He appears to want to cut through any polite royal spin to suggest he might have second thoughts about the concept,’ she said.
‘The ‘shrug’ aspect of the gesture suggests reluctance and looks like a micro-reference to the group’s claims about backstage battles.’
When Ms Daheley asked if William, Kate and Meghan had expected their Heads Together mental health campaign to achieve such resounding success, William humorously quipped ‘no’.
But while Meghan and a then-pregnant Kate laughed in response, Harry ‘stays facing forward with an unsmiling expression’.
The prince then appears to ‘cap’ William’s joke by humorously adding that the initial idea for the campaign ‘was organised on the back of a fag packet!’
Noting that this also appears to be a moment of ‘showboating’ by the prince, Ms James added: ‘He even throws his hands out towards the audience in an exaggerated gesture to add ‘It was!!’.’
While Meghan, now 44, was not yet a member of the Royal Family, it was also announced during the 22-minute interview that she would become a fourth trustee of the Royal Foundation.
Less than three months before Prince Harry was due to wed Meghan Markle, the couple strode out with Prince William and Kate Middleton to announce their collective plans for the Royal Foundation’s future
Prince Harry’s ‘disruptive’ behaviour during the first and only Royal Foundation Forum made him appear ‘like the boyband member you might be expecting to forge a solo career,’ according to Judi James
‘I’m personally incredibly proud and excited that my soon-to-be wife, who is equally passionate about seeing positive change in the world, will soon be joining us with this work,’ Harry proudly declared.
William also added how ‘delighted’ he was that Meghan would soon be joining the royal trio with their charitable work, while Kate engaged in a round of applause – a seeming sign of her unequivocal support for her soon-to-be sister-in-law.
But it was not Meghan’s charitable endeavours that captured the headlines following the event but, rather, the future Duchess’s bold statements about women speaking out against sexual harassment.
‘Right now,’ said Meghan, ‘with so many campaigns like #MeToo and #TimesUp, there’s no better time to continue to shine a light on women feeling empowered and people supporting them.’
According to royal author Robert Lacey, ‘everybody’ sat in the audience ‘nodded approvingly’ at the Suits star’s significant comments that were bound to gain public attention.
Writing in his book, Battle of Brothers, Mr Lacey added: ‘No one appeared to realise quite how revolutionary was this suggestion that the new recruit was making.’
Royal author Tina Brown also noted that as ‘Harry looked on with awe’, William and Kate ‘stood by expressionless’.
After Meghan pledged to ‘hit the ground running’ regarding her charity work, Harry could be heard quietly mentioning the ‘wedding’, which prompted laughs and the actress to joke: ‘We can multi-task.’
The historic interview may also have subtly foreshadowed Harry and Meghan’s impending royal exit, according to Ms James
While Meghan, now 44, was not yet a member of the Royal Family, it was also announced during the 22-minute interview that she would become a fourth trustee of the Royal Foundation
According to royal author Tina Brown, the campaign held a particular poignance for the now Princess of Wales – who had for ‘years’ been ‘providing emotional support for her younger brother James, as he struggled with clinical depression’
Meanwhile, at a later stage in the interview, William praised Kate as ‘the one who came up with the idea and the concept’ for their mental health campaign, and added: ‘Harry and I had never thought about doing a campaign as such before’.
According to Ms Brown, the campaign held a particular poignance for the now Princess of Wales – who had for ‘years’ been ‘providing emotional support for her younger brother James, as he struggled with clinical depression’.
The royal author added that Kate had been the ‘prime mover’ of the momentous campaign which had involved the work of ‘careful consultation with mental health professionals, policy experts, and Palace advisers’.
Meanwhile, Harry has also since fondly reflected on the Royal Foundation forum, noting in his tell-all memoir Spare that the ‘fairly good-sized audience’ was ‘keen’, and that the two couples were ‘having fun’.
‘The whole atmosphere was hugely positive,’ the prince added.
The royal foursome were also questioned by the presenter about whether they ever have ‘disagreements over things’, which William quickly tried to laugh off by responding with a drawn out ‘Ohhhh yes’.
Harry then jumped in to clarify that there were ‘healthy disagreements’ and even joked that they ‘come so thick and fast’.
William then forcefully tried to continue the banter and quipped: ‘Is it resolved? We don’t know!’
In an attempt to steer the topic back towards the serious message, Harry said: ‘I think it’s really good we have got four different personalities and we all have that same passion to make a difference.’
He then added: ‘But we are stuck together for the rest of our lives’, before Meghan quipped at the end ‘togetherness at it’s finest.’
Ultimately, while the Royal Foundation Forum was hoped to be the start of a terrific royal quartet, it was the one and only time the Fab Four would appear onstage together.
Just 16 months later it was announced that Harry and Meghan would be leaving The Royal Foundation and setting up their own charity.
‘These changes are designed to best complement the work and responsibilities of Their Royal Highnesses as they prepare for their future roles, and to better align their charitable activity with their new households,’ an official statement read.
‘The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are incredibly proud of what they have achieved together through the Royal Foundation.’
It was seen as the final step in dividing the couples’ public duties after they had previously split from William and Kate’s household of Kensington Palace and hired their own staff.
Following the forum in February 2018, the ‘Fab Four’ would only appear together in the context of larger group royal engagements, such as Trooping the Colour.