Meghan Markle looked 'sad' days before Omid Scobie's 'Endgame' release

Meghan Markle appeared tense while supporting her friend Misan Harriman at an event as explosive new book claims about the royal family loomed, a body language expert said.

Meghan sat on stage just two weeks before the release of Omid Scobie's book Endgame, which features damaging allegations about the monarchy.

The book revisits Meghan and Prince Harry's claim that royal family members questioned how dark their son Archie's skin would be. It also alleges Harry was kept in the dark about the Queen's health in her final hours.

Body language expert Judi James noted Meghan’s unusual pose during the event in her conversation with The Mirror.

Judi said: "We shouldn't underestimate the effort Meghan is putting in to look poised and confident here, but despite that I think she still ends up looking tense."

She continued: "Director chairs are notoriously difficult to sit in, with just a small foot ledge that only works if you're either very tall or wearing flat casual boots but Meghan is neither, meaning her elegantly folded legs and the way her feet are positioned in her heeled shoes would have required some thought and effort."

"Her brown outfit looks deliberately low-key and her overall pose is an unusual one for Meghan when she appears on any stage," she remarked, noting how the Duchess of Sussex is "such a keen and talented speaker” and usually sits like “a coiled spring, waiting to speak."

"Here though she is purely in quiet listening mode, with not just her legs crossed in a barrier but her hands folded on her lap, too. Her facial expression looks pensive, with a rather sad eye expression," she explained.

Judi concluded: "When she does unfold her hands it's the gesture they form that really suggests some inner tension. Her fingertips touch each other point-on here, which is a polite-looking precision ritual without any trace of feelings of relaxation."