AIDS 2020 Conference: Prince Harry 'less anxious' without Meghan Markle in message

Prince Harry shared a personal message from his new Los Angeles home for the opening ceremony of AIDS 2020 Conference. He spoke about the importance of being resilient during challenging times.

On Wednesday, the Duke of Sussex joined virtually to address the 23rd International AIDS conference on behalf of his Sentebale patronage. In his message for the largest conference on HIV and AIDS, he encouraged people to find resilience, a virtue everyone is learning during the coronavirus pandemic.

"This year's theme is resilience, something all of us around the globe has understood, specifically in recent months. For many, digging deep to find that resilience has been a challenging experience," Prince Harry said in a message that he gave from the gardens of his new rented Los Angeles mansion. The clip features Harry and young leaders at the Sentebale.

"As you're about to see, these young people are willing to speak out against injustice, be role models to their peers, support HIV prevention, and challenge limiting systems in the hope of a more inclusive and accepting environment for all," Harry added. The video message was shared by the non-profit organisation on its official Twitter account.

Meanwhile, a body language expert Judi James believes that the duke looked "less anxious" as he delivered the message all by himself, without his wife Meghan. James compared Harry's message for Sentebale and Harry and Meghan's joint message for Queen's Commonwealth Trust. Both were delivered recently and apparently shows two sides of the royal.

Speaking with Daily Star, James said that the royal father appeared "more comfortable" speaking alone. Meanwhile, she describes their joint message as "uncomfortable-looking performance" whereby she believed he was "royally upstaged by Meghan."

She goes on to say that even though Meghan is not in the latest video she might just be present there as the prince records the message. James suggests it "would be unusual for her to not get involved."

"Harry's body language and his presenting techniques suggest he's less anxious now he's not fidgeting as he waits his turn from someone who is a formidable act to follow, but his level of performance still suggests some discomfort," James explains. "His eye contact is more defined than it was with Meghan but he is making a speech rather than tuning into his audience as individuals, so he still looks camera-wary, with some micro-grimaces of his mouth hinting at how hard he's trying to get it right."

In addition, she praises Meghan's speaking skills and says that she is "a very adept inspirational speaker" as her words come from her heart. As for Harry, she claims, he is still "learning on the job."