The day we've all been waiting for is finally here: Meghan Markle married her prince — actually, the Duke of Sussex — at St George's Chapel. The whole world watched ... and cheered ... and wept. The ceremony was full of under-the-breath comments from Harry (we caught 'em), Princess Diana tributes, and lots (and lots) of body language.
"Prince Harry is living the story he's dreamed up his entire life," Susan Constantine, human behavioral expert and author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Reading Body Language told GoodHousekeeping.com. "Same goes for Meghan Markle. In every moment, you can see that they're totally mesmerized with one another." As they should be.
The grand spectacle of it all, including Meghan's family drama, didn't get in the way of their love. Better yet, even though Harry was riddled with nerves, he still embraced the moment — well, his bride.
"This is a high anxiety moment for Harry yet he's still being spontaneous and affectionate toward Meghan throughout this formal occasion," Patti Wood, body language expert and author of SNAP: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma told GoodHousekeeping.com. "He touches and bites his lip as a way to hold back his emotions (a.k.a tears) and soothe himself in a stressful situation." Makes sense to us.
And when the choir started singing "Stand By Me," Harry comforted his soon-to-wife with a gentle stroke of the hand. Ugh, our hearts.
But his emotions truly took over when his late mother's sister Lady Jane Fellowes read the Song of Solomon. "You can see Harry's hands are in a downward steeple," Wood explained. "This is merely his way of pulling himself together during an understandingly difficult moment."
In this moment, he also turns toward his bride, indicating that he wants to be connected to her while he keeps his emotions at bay. "Meghan, on the other hand, is focused on formality," Wood told us. " You can tell she's received royal training due to her erect posture but overall she's exhibiting strength and grace."
Their hands prove to be the real indicator of their emotions. While reciting their vows, Harry presses his thumbs down into Meghan's hands.
"In this moment, she's reaching her hands out farther to be close to him but he's giving her strength through his thumbs," Wood told us. "This is his way of saying 'I got you.'" How sweet!
When Prince William and Kate Middleton recited their vows seven years ago, things looked rather different. For starters, they didn't hold both hands (protocol, perhaps?). "More importantly, Kate stretches her hand over to Will, indicating that he's in charge and she will follow him wherever he goes," Wood explained.
After officially saying "I will" — their version of "I do" — Meghan and Harry stepped out of the chapel as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. "She's overjoyed by this surreal moment and he's totally smitten with her," Constantine explained. "They're truly connecting with one another and their upward-turning smiles are proof that they're totally smitten."
Once again, the couple is holding hands — and dropping serious clues about how they're feeling."Beyond their mutual eye contact, when the couple kissed they turned their shoulders very close to one another, which signifies that they want to be close even in such a public moment," said Wood. "In fact, no one would question if their shoulders were a few inches apart ... but clearly that's not what's important here."
When Will and Kate made their official entrance as a married couple on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, they also had the same sweetness in their eyes (ah, love!). But their intimate moment is more about formality than anything else. "You can tell how genuinely happy Kate is just by looking at her face, but it's also evident that she has not lost sight of being appropriate and formal with her posture," Wood said. But with the knowledge that Kate is likely the next Queen, we can totally understand why.
Here's the truth: Both weddings were full of pure, genuine love — that's the goal, isn't it? Both experts agree that the world hasn't seen a love like Harry and Meghan's in a long time (well, since 2011) — and we couldn't agree more.
Amanda Garrity is a lifestyle writer and editor with over seven years of experience, including five years on staff at Good Housekeeping, where she covered all things home and holiday, including the latest interior design trends, inspiring DIY ideas and gift guides for any (and every) occasion. She also has a soft spot for feel-good TV, so you can catch her writing about popular shows like Virgin River, Sweet Magnolias, Hallmark Channel’s When Calls the Heart and more.
