A body language expert has revealed her verdict on the touching photo Kate and William released for their annual Christmas card - and says it shows the Waleses are 'growing even closer as a family'.
William, 42, and his wife, Kate, 42, released their Christmas card earlier today, revealing a touching family photo taken in Norfolk with their three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six. It is a still from a heartwarming video released back in September in which the Princess of Wales revealed she had completed chemotherapy.
Sparking joy among royal fans, the card was posted online three hours after it emerged the Waleses would not attend today's traditional Royal Family pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace.
The sweet family photo, which was originally released in September to mark the end of Kate's journey with chemotherapy, reveals the family 'growing even closer together over the years,' revealed body language expert, Judi James.
'Their poses have been relatable to all parents of a young family and they are all aimed at the camera to wish their good tidings to every recipient,' she added.
She described this year's Christmas yard as 'an almost nostalgic step back,' stripping back their usual sophisticated stature, taking the family 'back to those idyllic summer holidays when they all played together and had fun as a young family.'
Further, the choice to remember moments from Kate's completing chemotherapy reveals her 'emotionally complex' state of mind in 'a very personal message to the public'.
'The body language looks spontaneous rather than posed with a card in mind. The family breakdown as in who poses where seems to have been decided naturally rather than the rather formally posed line-ups of the past.'
'There is almost no age definition here or pecking order, either. William and Kate sit with their children like their children. Support and protection signals look almost mutual.'
Judi also noted the importance of the children's 'touch rituals', with Princess Charlotte sat in the middle of her mother and older brother, Prince George.
'The way Charlotte has sat in the middle with her arms thrown out round both her brother's and her mother's neck suggests a desire to keep both of them as close as possible and to protect both of them, too.'
Equally, Kate’s pose reveals a loving and maternal stature as though a ‘mother hen,’ with one arm round her two eldest children and the other reaching out to Louis.
Suggesting their marriage is as strong as ever, Kate also has her hands ‘resting on William’s thigh to show ongoing attraction and affection.’
Meanwhile, ‘William’s ‘wing’ arm is around Louis but his left hand cups Kate’s hip in a tender gesture of affection.’
‘Louis’s cheeky smile is in contrast to the other four, whose smiles are tempered smiles with a look of more reflective and even sad happiness, showing the emotions they must have shared over the last year.
‘Kate’s head is tilted and hers is the more wistful, thoughtful smile, while William, Charlotte and George loose any hint of ‘Say cheese!’ and show upper teeth, tight lips but also with a widening of the lips to signal happiness.’
Meanwhile, the Wales's Christmas cards over the years have offered different representations of how the family have experienced each year.
For example, their 2020 festive card was 'very causal in terms of styling', with haybales, wooly jumpers and sweet photos of the group laughing.
Then, 2021 saw 'a rather alpha-looking William sitting in shorts with his legs splayed in a gesture of confidence, looking very much like the head of the family as the others posed with the kind of perfect smiles that suggested the classic 'Say cheese!' command.'
The following year, the family were seen in 'a more even-status pose' and they were seen 'walking in one straight line, wearing the kind of Enid Blyton chic casuals that suggested they were happily on holiday.'
Last year marked a 'mood change to something cooler and more fashionable-looking,' according to Judi.
She said the move marked their three children growing up and adopting 'some much more sophisticated and stylish-looking poses'.
'The monochrome made it a less cosy photo that previously and, with Charlotte commanding the center and front of the pose in a chair while the others stood, there was a feel of William and Kate retreating to the back slightly to begin to allow their children to take the spotlight.'
Prince William and Kate are instead said to be looking forward to spending time with members of the Royal Family as usual at the Sandringham estate over Christmas.
MailOnline understands the Waleses are already in Norfolk with their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, and had always planned to be.
It has also been made clear that William and Kate’s absence was in no way linked to Prince Andrew pulling out of the lunch amid the ongoing Chinese ‘spy’ scandal.
The confirmation from the royal source was given just before 11am, at around exactly the same time that Charles was spotted arriving at Buckingham Palace for the lunch.
Kate, who has been gradually returning to public events after revealing in September that she had finished a course of cancer treatment, was last seen with her family on December 6 at Westminster Abbey for her ‘Together at Christmas’ carol service.