Prince Harry sends 'bold message' to royals in personal Archie and Lilibet video

Daily Mirror

5 hours ago

In tribute to Prince Harry on Father's Day, Meghan Markle shared a video of heartwarming family moments over the years - but there's a strong message hidden in the montage according to an expert
Meghan Markle has shared never-before-seen footage of her children to mark Father's Day - and one expert believes it points to a new strategy for the Sussexes.
The Duchess of Sussex shared an incredibly personal video montage of Prince Harry with their two young children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. The compilation featured various photos and videos of the Duke of Sussex with his kids over the years, marking a notable shift from the couple's previous stance of keeping their children's faces completely out of the public eye.
The Duchess of Sussex took to Instagram shortly before midnight UK time to share the video, which was set to the song Have It All by Jason Mraz. Meghan added the caption: "The best. Happy Father's Day to our favorite guy", as heartwarming montage was played out of Harry with Archie, six, and Lilibet, four.
Special intimate moments are shown including footage of Archie and Lilibet as babies, while other clips showed Harry running around outside with them, dancing in the kitchen, at the beach, and during various other family days out.
The clip comes just days after Meghan shared another personal video of her twerking while in labour. Reacting to the new video, body language expert Judi James has revealed a striking contrast between Meghan's Father's Day post and Princess Kate's - and says there's a hidden message for Archie and Lilibet.
"The basic display tone of this video, that is a narrative of clips of Harry being a father, is very different to the one the UK royals tend to use for their Father's Day poses," Judi told the Mirror.
She explained: "With William and his children, Kate is very present, holding the camera. The children and often William tend to look into the camera to signal firstly inclusion of Kate but secondly their sense of having a public role too.
"Meghan's films suggest she is admiring her husband from a distance here. The sense of strong love is present, but it's also a reflective presence as though she's wanting to show how Harry reacts naturally with their children, almost when 'nobody is watching'. It's the kind of event many mothers experience when they look out of the window to watch their husband playing with the children and reflect on how good a father they are."
Judi continued: "This is a whole cinematic-looking narrative, too. Unlike the rather basic filming of her pregnancy twerking, this is glossy and idealistic, using lighting and filming techniques to make it look like movie class. It often feels like you're watching the opening credits of a show like Succession where they mock up historic-looking home movies to bring the family up to the present day.
"There's the technicolour technique at the start and end, which is similar to the Enid Blyton style colouring they once used on their Xmas cards. There's soft focus for the babies, then a more Vogue-style lighting and filming as Harry walks with his kids as they get older."
Sharing her thoughts on how the father-of-two is represented amid his ongoing public feud with his family, the expert shared: "Harry is shown being a tender, tactile and often playful dad who is very involved in teaching his children as they grow.
And one theme which runs throughout the clip could be seen as a message to the royals as Harry's fight for protection and security for his children while visiting the UK rumbles on. "There is also a very strong message of freedom for the children and Harry here, too," Judi notes. "There is a lot of running and walking away from the camera to continue to reject a more public profile but it's the recurring theme of the bare feet too."
Judi added: "With both Harry and his children walking in bare feet, the symbolic reference is to a free life but also to a wealthy one, as walking barefoot on public streets and parks tends to be a dangerous pastime. On your own estate, though, it's clearly just fine."
The Father's Day post is part of a growing trend of Meghan sharing more intimate moments from their family life on social media. Just last week, she posted a video of the family's fun-filled day at Disneyland to celebrate Princess Lilibet's fourth birthday.
It comes as Harry and Meghan recently gave their PR team the boot, making huge changes to how they run their internal communications. They have now hired Method Communications, who claim they are "disruptors" who "challenge the status quo".