It was the first time the so-called ‘Fab Four’ had been seen together since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s final royal engagement two years prior.

A day following the late Queen’s tragic death, the former Duke and Duchess of Cambridge walked alongside the Sussexes to view the extensive array of floral tributes outside the Berkshire estate.

This somber scene was somewhat reminiscent of when the young princes, who were just 15 and 12 at the time, walked among the crowds at Kensington Palace after the untimely passing of their mother, Princess Diana.

But this time, their walk and talk with members of the forlorn British public fell under entirely different circumstances. 

Although their much-anticipated reunion in 2022 held hopes of ending any lingering tensions among the four, Kate reportedly distanced herself from Meghan, opting for ‘self-preservation mode,’ as noted by a body language analyst.

Upon their arrival, the group was welcomed by applause as they observed the tributes dedicated to their beloved grandmother.

But the brothers barely interacted during the sombre 40-minute walkabout and appeared to stick to their respective couples.

Examining the uneasy interaction, body language expert Judi James suggested that Kate ‘clearly outlined her stance’ right as she exited the car by immediately ‘crossing over to join the husbands without pausing for her sister-in-law.’

 Describing Kate as being on a ‘rescue mission for William’, she told The Daily Mail: ‘Kate appeared to use spatial behaviour and distancing to make her own point about group dynamics and a lack of desire to turn an homage to a dearly-loved Queen into a soap-style drama.’

Noting that she was seen ‘walking apart from the others’, Ms James added: ‘her body language suggested a very focused future Queen wanting to pay her respects to a late Queen with the kind of decisive firmness and resolve that Elizabeth II was famous for.’

Given the high stakes of their long-awaited meeting it was ‘no surprise’, she notes, that the Princess of Wales quickly went into ‘self-preservation mode’. 

Indeed, according to royal expert Robert Jobson, writing in his book ‘our King’, Kate later admitted to a senior royal that the joint walkabout was ‘one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do’. 

Her difficulties on the day may have been as a result of the death of the late Queen making, Ms James asserts, ‘Kate’s destiny as future Queen even more imminent’, describing her death as a ‘baptism of fire’.

She added: ‘While the Queen was alive, Kate had played ball in terms of performing public acts of ‘denial’ with Meghan, walking to chat ‘happily’ with her during their Christmas walk to church to appease the Firm. 

‘But now she had no need to appease but every need to protect her husband, her own role and even the Crown.’

Noting Kate’s unwavering ‘physical detachment’ during the ‘Fab Four’ reunion, she added that there were ‘no fake smiles and no fake cosiness’. 

She described the Princess of Wales’ body language as one of ‘firmness, honesty, decisiveness and determination’, adding that she made sure to avoid any ‘pettiness’ given the vital importance to get the engagement right.

But the foursome’s reunion was far from perfect, with mistakes undoubtedly prevalent and nerves possibly rampant. 

At the end of their walkabout, all four members appeared to band together in front of the cameras, adorning bright smiles in a manner that appeared to signify a united front.

But such interaction was, Ms James notes, littered with a degree of disorganisation and chaos, noting that both William and Kate ‘seem to hone in on Meghan’ during the walkabout for a short period. 

Describing the final moments of the walkabout as filled with ‘utter dithering’, she claims that the group’s collective body language ‘illustrated how last-minute this royal quartet had been cobbled together’. 

She added: ‘There seemed to be a few seconds where they needed to take decisions about ending the appearances and getting away in the car. 

‘Royals don’t do dither very well as they are normally well-prepped and guided but here there are several gestures that suggest William, Kate and even Harry are checking something with Meghan.’

While Kate and William appear to walk towards the car in a rather cohesive and seemingly rehearsed manner, Meghan and Harry, in contrast, engage in ‘country dancing’ style arm behaviours.

 Describing the evident uncertainty about which direction the pair were meant to be taking as ‘clumsy’, Ms James adds that eventually Harry takes the lead and opens the car door for Meghan. 

While the slight sense of disorder could have represented a lack of practice by the pair, who had been withdrawn from senior Royal duties for two years by this stage, Ms James notes that it was likely due to a ‘lack of pre-planning’.

However, Kate’s ‘physical detachment’ style is not to be understated given that, as royal biographer Omid Scobie reveals in his book ‘Endgame’, the walkabout was also preceded by an eerily silent car journey.

His bombshell royal book claims that the reunion of the ‘Fab Four’ was merely orchestrated by the Waleses press secretary Lee Thompson to ‘keep up appearances’. 

The book stated that the ‘silence was palpable’ during the 150 second car journey from their residences to the Long Walk, which Mr Scobie says ‘must have taken an eternity’.

In particular, the royal expert drew attention to ‘the lack of communication between Meghan and Kate’, as well as the tension between Prince Harry and Prince William.

And, to make matters worse, it seemed that Meghan had forgotten that proper royal etiquette, which dictates the more senior royals, in this case William and Kate, walk ahead of junior members.

Footage from the occasion appeared to show Harry having to pull his wife back with his arm and slow down his walking pace so that she didn’t pull ahead of his older brother.

Despite having not spoken in months, Harry was aware that the eyes of the world were watching his and Meghan’s every move at that crucial moment.

As they turned past the gate of Windsor Castle, he appeared to strategically slow down his walk while subtly using his hand to guide her back into place.

But in a slowed-down clip of the moment, which was viewed widely after being posted on TikTok, royal watchers commented that Meghan seemed to be determined to break royal protocol.

One said: ‘Meghan just does not want to accept hierarchy.’

Another posted that after six years with Harry: ‘She should know protocol by now.’

A third commented: ‘Harry knows what she’s doing. She’s trying to be the spotlight as always.’

Another asked: ‘Why did she need constant reminding?’, to which someone else replied: ‘She knew but was determined to always try and be first.’

Other comments included ‘Meghan wouldn’t accept not being the star’, while someone else questioned: ‘How does she not get this? It’s not that hard.’

Meghan also appeared to have forgotten the proper etiquette when it came to dealing with the bunches of flowers grieving royalists were handing them.

Royal protocol dictates that when a member of The Firm is handed flowers they should pass them back to their private secretaries and personal assistants.

The aides will then lay the flowers properly, allowing the royals to keep their hands free to shake hands with more mourners.

There is also a more serious reason: the bouquets could contain dangerous substances or explosives, so royals are not meant to carry them.

But footage from the occasion seemed to show Meghan ignoring this practice and turning away the aide who tried to help her correct the mistake.

When approached by the staff member who correctly wanted to take the growing number of bouquets from her, a clip showed the royal initially said she would place them at the gates herself.

It was later revealed that the male aide in question was actually Lee Thompson, the high-flying Press Secretary to Prince William and Kate, who had been hired a few months before.

A lip reader later revealed to Daily Mail that he said to her: ‘Would you like any help with those at all?’

But Meghan responds by saying, ‘Oh thanks some are over there (or they may have said I’ll put them over there)’, as she points ahead of her.

She then added: ‘I’ll take these, thanks appreciate it.’

But despite the polite choice of words by the Duchess, some social media users have suggested her body language on the other hand was abrupt and rude.

One said ‘she didn’t thank him’ but instead claimed ‘she bit his head off’.

Another suggested she wanted a ‘photo moment’ of her laying down the flowers with all the others.

At the time of the walkabout, the feud between the Fab Four had only worsened after Harry and Meghan dramatically left their position as senior royals and moved abroad (dubbed by the Press as ‘Megxit’), and later took the decision to speak to Oprah Winfrey in a bombshell interview in which they effectively accused the Royal Family of racism.

As although some in the crowd greeted Meghan with stony faces, others were seen hugging her in moments of clear emotion.

To both experts and royal fans, it looked for a moment that the occasion could have provided a turning point in the frayed relationship of the foursome.

But it sadly proved to be a false dawn. Although they had temporarily put aside the differences that had been sparked by Megxit, the walkabout was not a lasting peace process.

Veteran royal correspondent Robert Jobson wrote in his 2023 book, ‘Our King’, that the idea that the walkabout had caused some kind of rapprochement was, sadly, a mere ‘illusion’.

Indeed, it marked the final time the foursome had an appearance, signifying a sure end to any hopes that the brothers had resurrected their close brotherly bond.