Prince Harry sent a particularly poignant message about his childhood with his and Meghan Markle’s Christmas card, says expert.

Prince Harry wanted to sent a message about his childhood, says expert (Image: Getty)

Prince Harry sent a telling message to his father King Charles through his and Meghan Markle’s Christmas card, according to a body language expert.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released their official Christmas card this week, which features six pictures that reflect the couple’s year, including one showing their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Harry and Meghan are shown in the outdoors about to hug Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet as their son and daughter run into their arms.

The couple have rarely exposed their children to the limelight and in the image their faces are not shown as Lilibet, three, approaches her father, while five-year-old Archie sprints to his mother.

Now body language expert Judi James claimed the photo showcases the couple’s “tactile family love”.

The Sussexes sent out their Christmas card for 2024 this week (Image: Archewell)

Prince Harry alleged in his own memoir, Spare, that his father did not hug him after he told him the tragic news that his mother, Princess Diana, had died.

The duke wrote in Spare: “Pa didn’t hug me. He wasn’t great at showing emotions under normal circumstances. How could he be expected to show them in such a crisis?

“But his hand did fall once more on my knee and he said ‘It’s going to be OK’. That was quite a lot for him. Fatherly, hopeful, kind. And so very untrue.”

Ms James told the Mirror: “This pose tends to show how far Harry and Meghan have moved away from their first Christmas card with Archie. Back then it was Archie face-on and close up to the camera, very much the star of the pose, as his two casually dressed parents watched adoringly in the background.

Prince Harry talks about King Charles in Spare (Image: Getty)

“Here, though, the emphasis is on privacy, with the children shown from back view only, rushing into their parents’ arms as though finding their security and love there.

“It’s a very evenly balanced picture in terms of tactile family love, which would be important to Harry given his own childhood.”

The expert added there seems to be a “veil of privacy thrown over the children”, while she also claimed that Harry appears to be the most dominant one.

She said: “”In terms of status, these poses tend to swing in Harry’s favour, making him look not just the hero adored by Meghan but also rather dominant.”