Prince William and Princess Kate’s Christmas card reveals a lot about the divide between the Waleses and the Sussexes, says an expert. The couple delighted fans this week by sharing their 2024 festive card on social media, featuring a sweet photo of them with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

The picture was taken from emotional footage released in September when Kate announced she had completed her chemotherapy treatment and was focusing on staying cancer-free. This official card was released just days after Harry and Meghan shared their own holiday card, offering a rare look at their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

The card includes six images, one of which shows the Sussexes opening their arms to their children as they run over for a hug. However, despite both cards featuring heartwarming family photos, body language expert Judi James says the two releases “could hardly be more opposite in terms of sentiments and composition.”

Speaking to the Mirror about Harry and Meghan’s card, she said: “Harry and Meghan’s card was primarily corporate, a ‘Round Robin’ update on the duo’s best bits of the year with each carefully selected and collected pose and each photo looking like a PR exercise to show them in their ideal state in terms of glitteringly successful, caring, loving, passionate and global.”

“It is us gazing at them rather than a personalised message of good tidings with them looking at the camera and therefore us. This creates a state of admiring them from a distance rather than knowing them or feeling warm bonds.,” reports the Mirror.

“Their picture with their children sees Archie and Lilibet from back view only and shot from the kind of distance that makes it look ironically like a paparazzi photo. Their message is one of indulgent, besotted and very even-balanced parenthood but there is no attempt to share their children with the public here.”

Kate and William’s 2024 family Christmas card (Image: Instagram)

However, when it comes to William and Kate’s card, Judi believes the message is totally different. She added: “With William and Kate’s card we have a facing the camera, close up view of what looks like very open and honestly shared emotions from both parents and children. This is the family image we saw in Kate’s video update of her illness and the body language here is nuanced and complex enough to gently hint at everything they have been going through.”

“Charlotte is seen with protective arms around her mother and brother, almost clinging them together. William holds his arm around Louis, but his hand is gently cupping Kate’s thigh. Kate’s rituals also look protective as she places one arm around her children with the other reaches for her husband and younger son.”

“Their smiles reflect a poignant happiness rather than a jolly, playful mood. Kate’s tilted head and tempered smile tells us all we need to know about her emotions at the moment.”

“While Harry and Meghan have quite understandably decided to create a distance in terms of family reveals and allow their desire for privacy to dominate the photo they chose, William and Kate seem to have treated the public like members of their own family and shared their smiles and emotions with us.”

The expert’s insights come as the Prince and Princess of Wales caused a stir by missing the pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace on Thursday. Expected to join the festive gathering with their children, it emerged just before the event that they would not be attending.

A royal insider disclosed that the family had already traveled to Norfolk as planned, anticipating a joyful Christmas at Sandringham with the rest of the royals. In contrast, Prince Andrew was also notably absent amidst the ongoing controversy over his ties with alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo, while his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, were present.

As for the Sussexes, while no official confirmation has been made, it appears increasingly unlikely they will travel to the UK for Christmas, seemingly preferring to stay in California for the season. Meghan has even shared a glimpse into what the holiday might look like for the Sussex clan.

Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, shared her love for the holiday season during a special dinner she hosted last month. The event was for Afghan women who had relocated to California and were being supported by the Welcome Project, a cause close to Meghan’s heart.

The dinner took place in the lead-up to America’s Thanksgiving, which traditionally marks the start of the festive season. Speaking to Marie Claire magazine at the event, Meghan expressed that she “loves the holidays” and with Archie and Lilibet now aged five and three respectively, “every year it gets better.”

Discussing Christmas celebrations, Meghan mentioned that she always ensures there are fun activities for the family. She said: “Like any other family you spend time having a great meal and then what do you do? Play games, all the same stuff, someone brings a guitar-fun.”

She also emphasized the importance of creating traditions for Archie and Lilibet, such as sharing recipes for Thanksgiving and leaving out carrots for Santa’s reindeer on Christmas Eve.