The striking moment Kate Middleton became a 'protective huntress' and appeared to deliberately ignore Fergie at the Duchess of Kent's funeral.
As the Royal Family sombrely gathered to mourn the life of the late Duchess of Kent, any indications of a Firm in crisis seemed to have been temporarily halted.
Despite the growing angst surrounding Prince Andrew's relationship with the late Jeffrey Epstein, as the now former Duke and Duchess of York stood among the Royals on the steps of Westminster Cathedral, relations appeared cordial.
Yet there were subtle cracks in this united front facade, notably in Princess Kate's seemingly frosty attitude towards Sarah Ferguson, also known as 'Fergie', following the private memorial service.
Striking video footage captured as the Royals stood outside of the Cathedral showed Kate appearing to deliberately ignore Fergie by refusing to engage in any conversation, while also turning her head as she walked past.
Indeed, according to body language expert Judi James, Kate's deliberate evasion showed her fulfilling her role as 'the Royal Firm's protective huntress' by seeking to 'ward off any unwanted attention and posing on behalf of her husband'.
The funeral service, which took place on September 16, came just days before Fergie was sensationally revealed by the Mail on Sunday to have apologised to Epstein in 2011 for letting him down, describing the sex offender as her 'supreme friend'.
Following the bombshell revelation, she was dropped as a patron from seven charities. The former Duchess later claimed she had sent the fawning email in a bid to protect Princess Beatrice and Eugenie after a 'chilling' phone call with Epstein.
Then, on October 17, it was announced that Andrew was to give up his titles, including the Duke of York, meaning that Fergie, by extension, would also lose her royal title.
And he could now be the first royal to be caught up in a criminal probe in more than 20 years, with Scotland Yard confirming it is 'actively' probing claims he asked an officer to dig up dirt on Virginia Giuffre.
Yet even prior to such scandalous revelations, Kate seemed to have been already attempting to distance herself from Fergie, avoiding any eye contact or amicable small talk in spite of their physically close proximity.
Explaining her mirroring of Prince William and acute perception of Fergie's presence, Ms James told The Mail: 'Her peripheral vision sees at first to be aware and wary of Fergie who is moving around behind and beside her.
'Her closed hand and her unsmiling expression signal no desire to engage or talk here, just keep the ex Royal in sight'.
In contrast to Kate, who seems to be serving as a 'protective shield' for her husband while also working to appease any pre-existing conflict, Ms James described Andrew and Fergie as 'the body language basking sharks of royal family events'.
'They appear to take advantage of family outings to position themselves with what will always look like an opportunistic eye', Ms James adds.
She explains that while prior to the late Queen's death Fergie would often 'keep to the chorus line' and simply 'weave around furtively behind the other royals', in recent years she has grown in confidence and is happy to engage in conversation with 'anyone whose eye she can catch'.
Meanwhile, Kate's attitude and approach when engaging with Royals engulfed by scandal also seems to have shifted in the aftermath of the death of the late Monarch.
'While the late Queen was alive Kate appeared to take a philosophical and often passive approach, trying to create some denial poses with people like Meghan for the sake of royal continuity.
'We saw the newer, firmer version of Kate during the Windsor Walkabout after the Queen's death, when she clearly distanced herself from Harry and Meghan despite the fact that William looked under pressure to be polite and amicable', Ms James explains.
Indeed, video footage captured at the notorious 40-minute 'Fab Four' reunion showed Kate's seeming inability to simply cast her feelings aside, with Ms James noting that the Princess was 'walking apart from the others' and that she had gone into 'self-preservation mode'.
According to royal expert Robert Jobson, writing in his book 'Our King', Kate later admitted to a senior royal that the event had been 'one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do', perhaps helping to explain for her 'physical detachment' and lack of 'fake smiles and fake cosiness'.
The Duchess of Kent's funeral presented an entirely new challenge for the Princess of Wales - with the eyes of the world firmly watching on as the former Duke and Duchess mingled with members of the Firm amid a litany of scandals.
Andrew and Fergie - who travelled from Royal Lodge in Windsor together - were given notable seats in the front row, just to the right of King Charles, Prince William and Kate.
Tags: Queen, Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince Louis, Prince William and Kate Middleton, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Meghan, Lilibet
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