LOS ANGELES - A body language expert says Prince Harry and Meghan Markle presented themselves as an "American version of royals" during their visit with Los Angeles fire evacuees at a local convention center.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited the Pasadena Convention Center to distribute supplies and meet with residents displaced by the Eaton fire.
"Meghan is doing some full body hugs here in a ritual of consoling, and her facial expression mirrors the sadness the people she's meeting must be feeling," body language expert Judi James told the Mirror.
"Coming on top of some more practical help from the couple, there's a feeling they're appearing like the US version of our royals," James told the Mirror.
The former royals distributed clothing, children's items, and other essential supplies while engaging with evacuees. Harry and Markle were seen exchanging hugs with several individuals affected by the crisis.
"This seems to have been an immersive experience for Meghan and Harry although, given their signature body language brand, it was always going to be the 'consoling' hugs that would provide the most camera-worthy moments," she told the outlet.
"For Harry, it will be an urge that is in his DNA as a royal, with attending the location of a disaster and tragedy and just being visible being part of the job," James told the Mirror. "He seems to be in that mode here, listening to stories and experiences to hopefully reassure and raise morale, but then there is the extra role of some hands-on hugging that has been added to the repertoire more recently."
James told the Daily Mail that Harry was "mirroring" his wife's "tactile" actions during the visit. "We can see Meghan in particular in two body language modes and functions here," she said. "Firstly, what would be termed 'getting stuck in' is physically helping out with food distribution and doing so in a way that seems to have rendered herself incognito."
"The 'head-down' body language from Meghan here looks practical rather than performative, implying that the job of distribution is better achieved without a media scrum or being made to stop and talk," James told the Daily Mail.
The Sussexes have also opened their $29 million Montecito, California, mansion to friends forced to evacuate their homes. Sources say the couple plans to continue supporting recovery efforts through additional community visits in the coming weeks.
The visit follows the couple's earlier financial contribution to local relief efforts through their Archewell Foundation.