The Princess of Wales is a natural when it comes to connecting with children while out on royal visits.
The future Queen, 44, is the doting mother to her royal children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight, with whom she has an exceptional bond, so it comes as no surprise she is able to spark an instant connection with young fans.
However, Inbaal Honigman, celebrity psychic and body language expert, has noticed Kate employs three important tactics when chatting to little ones.
© POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesInbaal explains: “Firstly, Kate keeps a respectful distance from the child, especially from their little faces. She avoids barging into the child’s personal space, choosing instead to hold back, leaving some space for the child to regard her from a safe distance. This helps the child look at her in peace, while feeling safe and free, unhurried and unafraid.
“At times, Kate is seen touching the leg or the arm of a child, but the Princess always maintains a respectful distance from their face or their body. When the infant’s personal space is honoured like this, they feel more at ease in getting to know the royal stranger.
Inbaal adds: In addition, Catherine mirrors the facial expressions of the kids that she meets. Mirroring is a body language strategy of emulating the moves or facial expressions of the person in front of you, in order to foster a feeling of empathy and create an impression of having common ground. This technique of mirroring creates an instant bond, as the baby feels like they’re on the same wavelength, and forms an instant bond of trust with the Princess.
She concludes: “And the final body language technique which makes the future queen such a fan-favourite with the kids, is that she maintains eye contact with the child, which gives the child the feeling that they matter.”
Baby fever
During Kate’s recent solo trip to Italy, one moment that stole the hearts of royal fans everywhere was when she was photographed bonding with a beautiful baby girl, Elena, who could not stop smiling at the royal.
© WireImageAs Kategreeted crowds, she was introduced to the tiny baby girl, who was just three months old. Elena had been brought by her mother, Marta, to meet the royal, and the pair had a sweet interaction as Kate was seen playing with the tot’s feet.
In photos of the meeting, Kate was seen beaming as she met the young baby, smiling at the girl as Elena smiled back.