Princess Kate shows empathy, strength during visit to Southport

Princess Kate exhibited moments of “understandable tension” during her surprise outing with Prince William as they met families affected by the tragic Southport stabbings, as noted by body language expert Judi James.

The Princess of Wales travelled to meet the families of victims and emergency workers who were caught up in the horrific Southport stabbings earlier this year.

During their visit, the Princess of Wales engaged with bereaved families and emergency responders who bravely intervened during the horrific incident.

The incident resulted in the deaths of young victims Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Da Silva Aguiar, nine when a knifeman broke into a Taylor Swift- themed dance party on July 30.

Speaking of Kate’s state of mind during the trip, body language expert Judi James said: “There were initially some clear signs of understandable tension from both William and Kate today and some photos will have shown her facial expression looking intensely sad.

James observed that while both William and Kate initially showed signs of tension, it transformed into empathy as they listened to heart-wrenching stories from grieving parents.

“Kate and William allowed their body language signals to be led by the people they were meeting. As some parents spoke they sat wearing expressions of sympathy and concern but when the chats became more relaxed and some smiles broke out, Kate followed suit, with a return of the dazzling, pitch-perfect smile she has always been known for.

“The way she followed the body language lead showed she was keen to not make the visit about herself, but about the people and the victims she was talking to and about. It was a careful and thoughtful display on how to keep the spotlight pointed in the right direction.”

During the visit, Kate broke off to hug those who helped save the lives of children at the dance school.

Judi added: “As a couple, William and Kate's famous mirroring traits were firmly in place and at times they sat in twinned poses with heads cocked at the same angle and identical hand clasps on their knees.

“Any initial signs of tension vanished as the visit went on. Kate did clasp her bag tightly with both hands at one point as they walked in and William arrived walking with his hands in a self-protective fig-leaf pose.

“Kate's hands remained tightly clasped in her lap when she first sat down, with one hand holding the other wrist in what looked like a tight grasp, but as she relaxed she became more animated, using both her hands to gesticulate to show engagement and energy.”