Meghan Markle’s Canada Gala Body Language Shows Playful Confidence

Meghan Markle appeared to shift between playful excitement and polished confidence while attending a gala with Prince Harry in support of their close friend David Foster, according to body language expert Judi James. Speaking to Our News Outlet, James said the Duchess of Sussex, 45, seemed to present “both the cute star and the confident director of her own movie” as the couple stepped out for a date night in Canada marking the 40th anniversary of The David Foster Foundation. “Meghan appears in two very distinct and contrasting body language states at this event,” the communications coach said, suggesting the Duchess first showed “a very powerful desire to be liked” through more childlike gestures before moving into what James described as a “regal mode” in which she appeared keen to take charge. In an Instagram video shared on Saturday, Harry and Meghan were seen walking through a corridor flanked by bagpipers. Meghan told the musicians, “My husband loves bagpipes!” before adding, “Oh my god, this is amazing!” Harry then jokingly asked the pipers: “Where are mine?”

The Duke went on to insist he could play both “pipes and drums”. Meghan’s clip then moved from the musical welcome to a plate decorated with what appeared to be an edible piano and musical notes, before showing the programme for the evening’s gala and concert. James said the footage highlighted two sharply different sides of the Duchess, who she claimed began with “a performance of shy coyness and excitement” before “shape-shifting to a very elegant state” in which she seemed to take the lead like “a choreography monitor”. Describing the couple’s arrival, James noted that Meghan walked a few steps behind Harry and repeatedly glanced back toward the camera, which she interpreted as a bid to appear “lovably coy”. She described Meghan’s gestures as “broken wing” helplessness, pointing to the moment she commented on Harry’s love of bagpipes and then lifted her hand to cover her mouth in what James called a “childlike, giggly cut-off ritual”. But once the Duchess reached the red carpet, James said, her manner changed into “regal, professional director-host mode”, signalled by a slight pursing of the lips that she interpreted as “a more dominant mode”.

“Her back is now held straight to ensure her torso and outfit look perfect and her chin is now raised to register total confidence, with no giggling or facial cut-off gestures,” James said. The expert added that Meghan then appeared to go into “pose-alert” as David Foster and his wife, Katharine McPhee — who attended school with the Duchess — joined the red carpet. “Smiling at David Foster, she graciously extends an arm with hand palm-up to sweep them onto the red carpet and into the pose beside her, beckoning and gesturing to announce that they should step in front of her as they do so,” James observed.

James claimed that when Foster seemed to pass without responding to Meghan’s greeting smile, the Duchess lowered her head and occupied herself by adjusting her dress, which the expert interpreted as a distraction tactic. “Meghan looks happy and slightly relieved when everyone has locked into her line-up and she returns to her professional mode — although Harry rather impolitely disrupts the arrangement by leaning back to chat to the man known as his ‘surrogate father’ behind the wives’ backs,” she said. According to James, Meghan then carried out a “realignment” by drawing Harry closer and laughing, possibly to defuse any impression that he had broken the red-carpet formation. Foster, 76, launched The David Foster Foundation in 1986 to provide financial assistance to Canadian families with children in need of life-saving organ transplants, while also raising awareness of organ donation across Canada and the United States. The Friday-night event took place in Foster’s hometown of Victoria, British Columbia, where Meghan was photographed wearing Princess Diana’s diamond and sapphire earrings.

The Duchess also owns several other pieces linked to the late Princess of Wales, including Diana’s butterfly earrings and matching cuff bracelet, a diamond tennis bracelet, a Cartier Tank Louis watch and the aquamarine “divorce ring” — an emerald-cut stone surrounded by diamonds that Diana received from her close friend Lucia Flecha de Lima in 1996. Meghan has worn Diana’s sapphire earrings at previous public appearances and chose an updo on Friday night that placed the jewels prominently on display. Harry, 41, opted for a black tuxedo and bow tie, while Meghan wore a black, one-shouldered maxi gown by Canadian designer Greta Constantine.

The Sussexes posed alongside Foster, a 16-time Grammy Award winner, and his wife, actress and singer Katharine McPhee, 42. Meghan and Harry have maintained a long friendship with the couple and have previously been photographed on a double date with them. In 2019, Foster helped arrange for the Duke and Duchess to stay at a close friend’s mansion on Vancouver Island, telling Our News Outlet at the time: “I felt honoured that I was able to help Meghan there because I’m a Canadian, and we’re a Commonwealth country — we’re the Crown’s. It’s important to us, so I grew up with that kind of sentiment. I was really happy to be able to help them to find a respite just to take a little time off.” The secluded waterfront mansion in North Saanich, British Columbia, belonged to one of Foster’s close friends, whose identity he declined to disclose. McPhee, who knew Meghan from school, told Access Hollywood in 2020 that her husband and Harry shared a “really, really beautiful relationship”, adding: “They’re so cute. They’re like father and son. We just stay in touch with them [the Sussexes]. But mostly, Meghan and I knew each other from childhood, but really Harry and my husband are friends. It’s really nice.”