Princess Kate put on a brave face as she made a red carpet appearance at the Royal Variety Performance following a week of turmoil within the Firm. Kate smiled as she appeared alongside husband Prince William at the event who was said to have offered her a “steering hand” after shocking allegations made in Omid Scobie’s new book Endgame.
A Dutch version of the book, which details life inside the Royal Family, appeared to name the two people alleged to have expressed “concerns” over the colour of Prince Archie’s skin before he was born.
Piers Morgan named the two people as King Charles and Kate on his show on TalkTV, with the Guardian and The Times also identifying the pair.
Body language expert Judi James said Kate appeared “vulnerable” during her appearance at the event on Thursday following the allegations.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, she said: “William’s gestures here look deliberate as he ‘presents’ his beautiful wife to the world on the red carpet. He uses a steering hand but he also extends his arm and hand in a romantic gesture of support which she accepts, throwing him a grateful-looking smile as she does so.
“This is not their usual A-list red carpet cosplay. Following the insults and rumours from Scobie’s book the couple seem to have taken a regal approach that is also very human and more emotionally revealing in terms of their shared love than ever before.
“As a body language statement it appears to nail all the negative comments, from the suggestion of being dull to the ‘Stepford wife’ quote.
“Kate does look slightly vulnerable here, with less of a statuesque posture than normal for her red carpet appearances but her smile becomes warm as she connects with William with more shared eye contact than usual.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made the claims in their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey where they claimed members of the Royal Family had expressed “concerns” over the colour of Prince Archie’s skin before he was born.
Scobie, Meghan’s former friend and biographer, suggested two members had engaged in the discussions but refrained from naming the individuals.
But after Endgame was published in the Netherlands, the Dutch version was pulled from shelves after Princess Kate and King Charles were identified.
The Palace is said to be “considering all options” following the claims.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were pictured at the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington on Thursday, where William was seen guiding Kate with his arm.
Ms James said this was a clear sign of “support” for his wife who had not been seen since the allegations came to light.
Scobie appeared on ITV’s This Morning where he insisted the English version did not contain the names when sent to a translator.
