Prince William and Kate's Christmas card reveals telling detail on Meghan and Harry rift

Both the Prince and Princess of Wales and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have shared their official 2024 Christmas cards - and one expert believes they show how the two couples could 'hardly be more opposite'

Prince William and Princess Kate's Christmas card speaks volumes about the gulf between the Waleses and the Sussexes, according to an expert.

William and Kate delighted fans by sharing their 2024 festive card on social media this week, adorned with a sweet shot of the couple with their arms around their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

The photo comes from emotional footage released in September where Kate revealed she had finished her course of chemotherapy and her focus was "doing what I can to stay cancer-free".

The official card was released days after Harry and Meghan shared their own holiday card, which offered a rare glimpse of their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Six images are featured, including one of the Sussexes opening their arms out to their youngsters as they run over for a hug.

But despite both cards featuring heartwarming family snaps, body language expert Judi James says the two releases "could hardly be more opposite in terms of sentiments and composition".

When it comes to Harry and Meghan's card, she told the Mirror: "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.

"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."

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 revelations come as the Prince and Princess of Wales surprised fans by skipping the pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace on Thursday. The couple were expected to attend the annual celebration along with their three children, but just a short time before the luncheon was due to start, it was revealed that the family would be missing the event.

A royal source said that the family is already in Norfolk, as had been planned, and is looking forward to spending time with the rest of the royal family at Sandringham over Christmas. While beleaguered royal Prince Andrew was also absent, amid the ongoing furore over his relationship with alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo, his daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were both there.

Meanwhile, although it has not been confirmed, it seems highly unlikely that the Sussexes will come to the UK for Christmas and look set to remain in California for the holidays. And Meghan has revealed exactly what Christmas might have in store for the Sussex family.

Her comments came as she hosted a special dinner last month, for women from Afghanistan who had relocated to California and were being supported by the Welcome Project, a cause supported by Meghan, which helps Afghan women.

The dinner was hosted in the run-up to Thanksgiving in America, which typically officially kicks off the festive season. And speaking to Marie Claire magazine at the event, Meghan revealed she "loves the holidays" and that with Archie and Lilibet now five and three "every year it gets better".

When it came to celebrating Christmas, Meghan said she was always making sure the family had something fun to do. She added: "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 revealed how it was important for her for Archie and Lilibet to have memories of traditions such as sharing recipes for Thanksgiving and putting carrots out for the reindeer on Christmas Eve.