The Princess of Wales's 'frosty' encounter with Beatrice at Royal Ascot: Body language expert claims the Princess of Wales went into 'silent mode' as William tried to 'build a barrier' against his cousin.
The Princess of Wales's 'frosty' relationship with Princess Beatrice was visible long before the scandal of the Epstein Files unfolded, a body language expert has claimed.
When the two princesses attended Royal Ascot in 2017, footage captured Kate holding an animated conversation with Zara Tindall at the racecourse, while the Prince of Wales 'chortled happily' in the background with her husband, Mike.
Yet when Beatrice sought to 'break into' the group conversation, Kate, 44, went into 'silent mode' while William desperately tried to 'form a barrier' from his cousin, according to a body language expert.
Judi James told the Daily Mail: 'Kate's "acceptance" of Beatrice into her social group of three looks flimsy and even a little frosty here, hinting at a degree of distancing that pre-dated most of the recent strain of the Epstein scandal.'
It comes as both Beatrice, 37, and her sister, Princess Eugenie, 35, are said to have been left 'blindsided' by the recent decision to exclude them from this year's Royal Ascot event.
Amid concerns about the unfolding scandal involving the House of York and their ties with Jeffrey Epstein, sources told The Mail on Sunday that Beatrice and Eugenie will not sit in the Royal Box, nor can they join senior royals for the Royal Procession.
Yet even in 2017, Britain's future Queen appeared to be far from welcoming towards Beatrice when she attempted to partake in the 'agreeable, tactile and enthusiastic' chatter she was sharing with Zara.
Ms James explained: 'We see Beatrice pop up in the gap between William and Mike, showing clear signals of expecting to break into their group. She laughs with Mike but there is an air of disruption rather than acceptance here now.
'Kate seems to have stepped back slightly rather than leaning in to greet and engage with Beatrice, and her body language goes into "silent" mode, with no movement or signs of reaction now.'
At this stage, William appears to 'touch his face and look at Kate' with a facial expression that suggests he is hoping to 'form a barrier with Beatrice,' according to Ms James.
While Kate, renowned for her compassionate and welcoming nature, was previously 'very active' in engaging Mike Tindall into conversation, her friendliness drastically shifted towards her cousin-in-law.
As a result of the Waleses' 'frostiness' Beatrice eventually 'appears to give up' and slowly 'backs out without any smiles or friendly break-away gestures, and also without any reciprocal grins or touches from the others'.
'There is the faint whiff of a failed networker now in the way Beatrice wanders off to appear to try to break into another group,' she explained.
It comes after a royal expert suggested that the latest tranche of Epstein Files could place further strain on the already apparently uneasy relationship shared between the Prince and Princess of Wales and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
Kate's seeming reluctance to form a close bond with Beatrice will also no doubt have been worsened by the role the princess played in helping to set up her father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's car-crash Newsnight interview.
A BBC producer revealed that Princess Beatrice had attended a negotiation meeting with her father ahead of the interview in November 2019.
As well as attending a pre-production meeting with producer Sam McAlister, with a notebook and pen, Beatrice famously became Andrew's 'alibi' during the interview when he claimed he was collecting her from a party at Pizza Express on the night he supposedly had sex with Ms Giuffre.
Meanwhile, the latest tranche of Epstein files also revealed 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.
While Kate has become more 'cautious' in her relations with both Beatrice and Eugenie in recent months, in 2017, Eugenie had seemingly struck up a rather close bond with her sister Pippa and even attended her wedding that year.
The following year, Pippa was in attendance at Eugenie's wedding to Jack Brooksbank. Beatrice, however, was not in attendance at Pippa's wedding and little is known about the two's relationship.
Ms James explained: 'There have been signs that Kate's relationship with Eugenie did thaw with time, while Beatrice's relationship with Kate might actually have eroded over the same period.'
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams previously told the Daily Mail that it was 'unsurprising' Kate had become 'cautious in her relations' with the two sisters, following reports that both her and William are keen to keep them both at 'arm's length'.
Tags: Queen, Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince Louis, Prince William and Kate Middleton, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Meghan, Lilibet
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