Balcony kiss showed royal couple’s ‘deep love’
With the eyes of the world upon them, the royal couple demonstrated a confidence and spontaneity which set them apart from the Prince and Princess of Wales’s historic appearance.
And — to the delight of the crowds below — they kissed not just once but twice. Body language expert Elizabeth Kuhnke said the public display of affection — fun, flirtatious and respectful — showed a “deep love” between the two.
The highly-anticipated moment came shortly after William and Kate emerged in front of thousands at Buckingham Palace.
While William smiled broadly, Kate dropped her composure for just a moment. Visibly stunned by the vast crowds below, she mouthed, “Oh wow...” before waving in delight.
“The first kiss went so quickly,” Mrs Kuhnke said. “The real kiss was the second kiss, perhaps because they hadn’t planned it.
“It lasted a bit longer. William held it a bit longer before Catherine opened her eyes, looked up to the right and pulled away, almost in shyness.
“It was almost as if she was saying, ‘all right we have done it now’ but he held it a bit longer and you could tell that he loved her through the look in his eyes.”
The kiss — which is likely to become one of the defining images of their wedding day — showed Kate’s “playfulness” and “flirtatiousness”, she said.
Her poise and composure also came through.
However, it was more “dignified” the moment when the Duke and Duchess of York appeared on the balcony, she said.
Body language expert Judi James echoed her interpretation.
“The kisses were swift and lacking in discernible passion,” she said.
While William appeared to be battling nerves, blushing “the colour of his uniform”, he was able to give the public what they had hoped for on the second attempt, she added.
“The second kiss was more rewarding but also rather sudden with no lingering eye-gaze or tender body or face touch to give it the edge of passion which was rather a good thing. These kisses looked normal and touching.”
Bride and groom displayed “grace under pressure”, but with small gestures they betrayed serious nerves, a body language expert has said.
William and Kate appeared to be reining in their emotion throughout the marriage ceremony, Elizabeth Kuhnke observed.
But as the newlyweds emerged from Westminster Abbey they were all smiles — their more relaxed poses indicative of their joy and love for each other, she said.
“When Kate left her hotel this morning, she was radiant and her smile was so natural,” Ms Kuhnke said.
“She was elegant and poised and happy. She looked composed and she was taking it all in.
“William displayed a bit more emotion — his face became a bit flushed and his lips looked a bit trembly, whereas Kate was really holding herself in — she did not give in to her emotion but you could see she was nervous from the tightness around her mouth.”
“There was great warmth between them.”
Their behaviour towards one another was a world away from that of the Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales on their wedding day, she noted.
“William and Kate are so much more connected than his mother and father.
“When they move, they move together and they move in synch. In contrast, Charles and Diana moved much more awkwardly,” she said.
When the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer married on July 29 1981, their kiss became one of the most enduring images in royal history.
Their break from formality and royal protocol came in direct response to clamours from the expectant crowds below.
At the time, Charles was reported to have said to Diana: “I am not going to do that caper. They are trying to get us to kiss.” Then she responded: “Well, how about it?”
But as the young princess arched gracefully backwards, her veil flowing behind her in a fairytale pose, her husband appeared rather less at ease, creating a slightly stilted embrace.
Five years later, the Duke and Duchess of York followed in their footsteps, appearing to relish their wedding day “balcony moment.”
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