Inside Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 2024 shift from 'romantic thirst trap' to separate lives

From passionate PDA to months of solo work trips, Harry and Meghan's professional distance has sent fans into a frenzy this year - but what's the strategy behind the shift? Our expert unpacks the couple's 2024 evolution

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have certainly grabbed attention in 2024 with their professional distance setting tongues wagging.

As the Sussexes heads into 2025, all eyes will be on their next move as their increasingly solo ventures have sparked confusion this year, with Harry focusing on his charity work and Meghan on her business endeavours.

The couple did come together for two royal-style tours in 2024, but apart from these trips, joint outings have been fleeting. Harry and Meghan have often been oceans apart at official engagements; a stark difference between the practically inseperable duo fans have come to know and love. Their famous flirting and PDA has also mostly fizzled out.

At one stage this year, the duo had not been seen together for 85 days, sparking the rumour mill so fiercely that Harry was forced to speak out. And body language expert Judi James believes the Sussexes' new strategy reveals a massive shift for the couple, who were once described as like "salt and pepper" as they always "move together".

She told the Mirror: "The year did start well in body language terms, with two 'royal' tours that saw the glittering couple looking tactile and bonded and even one rather passionate kissing display during a salsa class that kept their branding as both a professional and a romantic duo very much alive.

"Since then, though, fans have been shown a professional parting of the ways that appears to have been building slowly but carefully recently. We now go months without seeing Harry and Meghan appearing in public together, creating an emotional drought in terms of all that romantic signalling the couple are known for and which has always been essential to their narrative of having given so much up for love and to be together.

"Their tactile rituals, their adoring glances and their verbal gush about each other seemed to dissolve from public view once they became an 'either-or' professional double act in later 2024, rather than an inseparable professional duo. Working apart does seem to show up some differences in their approach, too. Harry has been seen looking relaxed and playful, immersing himself in those conversation with young children he is so good at or turning on the performer charm doing comic turns on TV shows.

"Meghan's solo appearances have shown her looking more vulnerable and even coy, 'limpet clinging' to friends as though missing the comfort of her body language with Harry. Harry and Meghan might shine apart but together their body language sets off Gamma rays."

Two of Harry and Meghan's most high-profile joint appearances together came in May when they visited Nigeria and then again in August on their trip to Colombia. And Judi said these trips threw up some interesting moves.

She explained: "Their earlier trip to Nigeria showed them in familiar form in body language terms, an evolved 'royal' couple in love taking part in royal-looking engagements while holding hands, throwing flirtatious, loving glances and Meghan employing that now signature hand on her husband's knee to signal protective ownership and dominance.

"Their visit to Columbia looked equally royal but it also produced one of the most passionate PDAs from the couple to date as they took to the dancefloor to salsa and stopped for an intimate mouth kiss followed by a sweetly affectionate kiss on the head from Harry while Meghan clasped her hands and tilted her head in a 'swoon' gesture.

"Since that breathtaking non-verbal statement of passionate love though came separate public appearances with neither ever really being a huge enough presence to fill the gap left by the other."

The couple's solo appearances have seen Harry globetrot around the world, travelling to the likes of New York, London, Southern Africa and Vancouver, where the 2025 Invictus Games will be held. In contrast, Meghan has stayed closer to their home in California, with a series of outings at glamorous events.

Judi added: "Harry's solo visit to Canada for the Invictus project might have shown him at his upbeat, show-boating, performative best, a nostalgic return to the days when he was the most popular and glamorous prince back in the UK, but fans would still have been waiting for the cameras to pan back to show a besotted Meghan completing the body language double act.

"Ditto for Meghan's red-carpet appearance for the LA children's hospital. Meghan even wore a red dress she had famously worn with Harry but it was missing two vital components: the red matching train and Harry himself. Meghan's body language signalled coy vulnerability at this outing. She rushed back to pose with friend Kelly and when she did she partly hid behind her, like a shy teen.

"Harry clearly adores a spot of acting and show-boating, like his 'tattoo' stunt and his appearance on the Jimmy Fallon show. He can display as something of a 'regular bloke', swearing, pranking and generally unleashing his comedy turn side and this is a side that is not a strength for Meghan.

"One of her recent solo outings for a haircare launch showed Meghan in what looked like party mood, snuggling into her friend as they posed on the red carpet and looking like a relaxed, fun celebrity at the event."

But in their latest joint appearance, when they came together to record a video message about the importance of protecting children online, Judi believes there was a marked difference. She said: "The romantic thirst trap the couple create makes the moments when they do pair up professionally even more important for the fans. Which is why their public, professional re-meet in November to film a video for one of their joint campaigns would have created a bit of a fan frenzy. Sadly though, their body language looked stilted and rather formal, especially Harry's.

"While Meghan threw him several loving, supportive glances he barely reciprocated and their one PDA here came when Harry placed his arm around his wife's back. This was no spontaneously romantic gesture though, instead, it looked rehearsed and timed to the cue of the word 'together' in their script.

"It would only be natural for a happy, loving couple to pursue individual professional goals after years of being 'sold' as a double-act but no matter how blissfully happy they are in their private lives, Harry and Meghan have always shared that love openly with the fans on frequent public outings and their romantic performances are very much a huge part of who they are in terms of both a real-life iconic love story and as a brand. So, any fizzling of those PDAs does tend to starve the fans of what they have come to expect as a constant."