Kate and Eugenie’s ‘awkward’ day at Trooping the Colour: King’s niece was ‘tense’ and mirrored ‘grim-faced’ Andrew despite ‘authentic’ Princess of Wales wanting to ‘promote friendship’, claims body language expert

It’s been reported that the Princess of Wales was ‘cautious’ of the York Princesses long before the scandal of the Epstein Files unfolded – and a ‘tense’ scene between Kate and Eugenie showed their true feelings were evident as far back as 2013.

Standing next to one another on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for Trooping the Colour that year, the two royals put on an ‘awkward’ display, according to a body language expert.

Judi James told The Daily Mail that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s daughter showed signs of ‘tension’ when Kate, who was pregnant with Prince George at the time, struck up a conversation with her.

The body language expert claimed Eugenie was torn between engaging in the discussion and sticking to mirroring her father, the ex Duke of York, and her sister, Princess Beatrice, who looked ‘grim-faced’ and ‘uncommunicative’ next to her.

‘Kate clearly showed signals of high levels of excitement and sociability to the royal fans,’ said Judi. ‘Her body language here showed she was the one instigating the chat with Eugenie and she made more than one effort, turning her head and craning her neck to signal an active desire to be friendly.

‘Eugenie appeared rather tense here which could suggest silent group pressure from her sister and father to mirror their state.

‘Her bag was held in a barrier ritual between herself and Kate and her free right hand seemed to be fiddling or picking slightly to hint at some inner awkwardness.’

However, the King’s niece did eventually ‘snap her head around when Kate turned to talk and there were some reasonably high sociability signals from both women,’ explained Judi.

She added: ‘Kate in particular appeared to want to convey the impression of friendship to both Eugenie and the crowds.’

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Kate and Princess Eugenie appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the annual Trooping The Colour ceremony on June 15, 2013, in London

‘We can see Kate’s wide mouth smile beneath her hat brim as she turned to talk, and we can also see her affirmative nods as Eugenie replied, which would be a signal of active listening, encouragement and agreeableness.

‘When Kate looked back to the front, she retained her smile in a “lingering” gesture of authenticity to signal sustained pleasure at the transaction although her smile did look a little rigid.’

Judi suggested that Kate’s rituals after the conversation hinted at ‘some potential awkwardness’.

Following the chat, Eugenie looked to the front and returned to wearing a ‘dour’ look like her father and sister, while Kate’s smile dropped slightly, according to the body language expert.

Judi suggested Eugenie displayed feelings of ‘vulnerability or awkwardness’, adding: ‘She might have felt slightly torn between smiling and chatting with Kate and standing as grim-faced and serious as her father and sibling.’

The expert continued: ‘When the camera picked the two women up again, there were clear signs of a desire to promote the idea of a relaxed and happy friendship, with Kate chatting and laughing and Eugenie responding, although Eugenie had her bag clutched in both hands then in a double barrier and she seemed to bite her lower lip as she smiled, to hint at tension.’

Judi’s analysis of the footage follows a claim from royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams that William and Kate ‘won’t’ miss the York sisters if the future king has to ‘take the hard line’ with his cousins.

Their relationship has apparently long been strained – but the latest revelations from the Epstein files could cause it to deteriorate further.

The most recent tranche of Epstein documents has raised serious questions about how much the former Duke and Duchess of York’s daughters knew of their parents’ corrupt dealings with the paedophile financier.

One email sent by Epstein in 2015 – after he was convicted for soliciting sex from a girl under 18 – boasted to a friend that Beatrice ‘liked’ him.

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Kate and Eugenie stand on the balcony during the annual Trooping the Colour in 2013

It also emerged that Beatrice helped advise her mother on how to placate Epstein after Fergie called him a paedophile while apologising for accepting a £15,000 bailout from the convicted sex offender in a 2011 interview. She also played a key role in facilitating her father’s 2019 Newsnight interview.

Beatrice and Eugenie must now face the possibility that the drip-feed of Epstein revelations could see them ousted from royal life as well.

William is now facing calls to evaluate his relationship with Beatrice and Eugenie, and assess whether they have a future within The Firm – a decision which will no doubt be fuelled by the apparent pre-existing tension in his relationship with the York sisters.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said: ‘It may fall to William to make a decision on the future of Beatrice and Eugenie. Neither are reportedly particularly close to him or to Catherine.

‘The fact that Beatrice, when 20, and Eugenie, aged 19, visited Epstein in Florida just after his release from prison with their mother is alarming. They must have known who they were visiting and how inappropriate this was. He was under house arrest.

‘There is obvious sympathy for the predicament of the sisters; mention in the files does not denote wrongdoing.

‘The King reportedly regards their work-life balance, where they both do some charitable work alongside their careers and families but are not working royals, as admirable.

‘William, it is reported, may well take a hard line when he becomes king. William and Catherine do not appear to have close ties with the sisters and would probably not miss them.’

Rumours of tension go back as far as 2011, when the future king failed to invite Beatrice’s long-term boyfriend, Dave Clark, to his wedding.

It was a surprising twist, given that William introduced the former couple to one another at a party hosted by Sean Brosnan, the son of film star Pierce Brosnan.

In spite of having made the initial introduction, William had cooled his friendship with Dave, seeing him as ‘indiscreet’, to the extent that he didn’t ask him to his wedding in 2011 – a decision that hurt Beatrice very much.

‘Reports indicate that William fell out with him, regarding him as unreliable,’ Fitzwilliams said, adding: ‘Proof of this is his absence from William’s wedding in 2011, which was obviously one of the weddings of the century.’

A source told the Daily Mail in 2016: ‘William isn’t a huge fan of Dave. It’s fair to say that if Beatrice had asked the Queen for permission to marry Dave, and she in turn asked William privately for his view, she may not have been given a glowing report.’

Last month, sources close to the sisters said they were ‘appalled’ and ’embarrassed’ by a photo of Andrew crouching over an unidentified woman lying on the floor in the newly released files.

They are believed to be ‘aghast’ at their mother’s emails, calling Epstein a ‘legend’ and proposing marriage to him, and Eugenie must surely have been left mortified after her mother told the sex offender she was off on a ‘s***ging weekend’.

A source close to Eugenie and Beatrice told the Daily Mail: ‘They are aghast at what they have read. They are mortified by the emails their mother has sent to Epstein. It is so embarrassing for them.’

They added: ‘We don’t believe the girls [Beatrice and Eugenie] were told much about what has just emerged [in the latest Epstein files release], and they will simply be aghast at just how close their parents were to this appalling man.’