Welcomed with a glorious round of applause, the Fab Four’s on-stage debut appeared to be off to a flying start.

All eyes were on William and Harry as they strode out with their partners Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle for their first ever joint event to unveil their charitable vision for the future of the Royal Foundation.

The event served as the informal royal ‘working debut’ of Harry’s then-fiancée, American actress Meghan, and the all-smiling team sat down for what would be a 22-minute joint interview.

But beneath the surface, the cracks in the relationship between the brothers and wives were beginning to appear.

Body language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail: ‘There was a soft-focus filter over this “Fab Four” meeting of minds at the time, as Harry rather coldly and incorrectly put it: “We’re together for life”.

‘The expectation was that we had a new friend and “sister” for Kate in much the same way that Fergie and Diana paired off, plus a very glamorous royal quartet to team up for their campaigns and charities.’

Despite not even being an official member of the Royal Family until her wedding a few months later in May, Meghan did not feel like she needed any time as an apprentice.

She snagged most of the headlines at the event when she boldly encouraged women to ‘use their voices’ rather than ‘find’ them, praising women for speaking out against sexual harassment.

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All eyes were on Princes William and Harry as they strode out with their partners Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle for their first ever joint event on February 28, 2018

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The Royal Foundation Forum served as the informal royal ‘working debut’ of Harry’s then-fiancée, American actress Meghan, and the all-smiling team sat down for what would be a 22-minute joint interview

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Body language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail: ‘There was a soft-focus filter over this “Fab Four” meeting of minds at the time, as Harry rather coldly and incorrectly put it: “We’re together for life”‘

Meghan had unknowingly veered into the most fundamental rule of being a royal – to stay out of politics.

She promoted the viral #TimesUp campaign, which aimed to create laws to punish companies which tolerated sexual harassment in wake of the Harvey Weinstein Hollywood scandal.

Although it was a noble cause, the creation of laws would obviously mean input from politicians, which is a big royal taboo.

‘Meghan’s energy and confidence here might not have been a surprise, given her career and campaign experience before meeting Harry,’ said the body language expert.

‘Meghan’s declaration of passion about women’s empowerment made her seem a dynamic and much-needed addition to the Firm.

‘There was a powerful difference between the more cautious, careful and rather slow-hand-on-the-tiller campaign approach of William and Kate and the warp-speed urgency, drive, passion and energy of Meghan.

‘Kate was also heavily pregnant and looked and sounded tired here, sitting back in her seat while speaking softly and smiling politely.

‘Meghan clearly knew how to work and hold a room actively while Kate, as a royal, had only ever needed to adopt a more passive approach, as royals tend to command attention without any need for effort.’

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Royal author Tom Bower wrote that Meghan’s speech was based on her ‘virtuous thoughts’ and he claimed it caused Kate to react with a ‘frozen expression’

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As well as grabbing the headlines with her provocative speech, Meghan’s talk also caused traditional royalists to raise an eyebrow

Meghan had unknowingly veered into the most fundamental rule of being a royal – to stay out of politics.

She promoted the viral #TimesUp campaign, which aimed to create laws to punish companies which tolerated sexual harassment in wake of the Harvey Weinstein Hollywood scandal.

Although it was a noble cause, the creation of laws would obviously mean input from politicians, which is a big royal taboo.

‘Meghan’s energy and confidence here might not have been a surprise, given her career and campaign experience before meeting Harry,’ said the body language expert.

‘Meghan’s declaration of passion about women’s empowerment made her seem a dynamic and much-needed addition to the Firm.

‘There was a powerful difference between the more cautious, careful and rather slow-hand-on-the-tiller campaign approach of William and Kate and the warp-speed urgency, drive, passion and energy of Meghan.

‘Kate was also heavily pregnant and looked and sounded tired here, sitting back in her seat while speaking softly and smiling politely.

‘Meghan clearly knew how to work and hold a room actively while Kate, as a royal, had only ever needed to adopt a more passive approach, as royals tend to command attention without any need for effort.’

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Royal author Tom Bower wrote that Meghan’s speech was based on her ‘virtuous thoughts’ and he claimed it caused Kate to react with a ‘frozen expression’

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As well as grabbing the headlines with her provocative speech, Meghan’s talk also caused traditional royalists to raise an eyebrow

And then came the question from the presenter: Did the royals ever have disagreements?

William tried to laugh off the tricky question by responding with a drawn-out ‘Ohhhh yes’, with Harry jumping in quickly to clarify they were ‘healthy disagreements’.

Judi said: ‘It’s when the group are asked about disagreements that they all chuckle knowingly.

‘Meghan drops her head at this point with her hair completely shielding her face and therefore masking her thoughts, although it’s clear she is laughing.

‘Although Kate laughs, she keeps her face visible to share the laugh, even tucking her hair behind one ear.

‘Meghan puts one hand out onto Harry’s arm and turns away from Kate, even hiding her face with both her hands at one point, before doing a similar hair-flick as she does in the first clip.

‘Meghan’s responses look natural, and she would often raise a hand to her face to whisper playfully when out at events with Kate, but when royals are on display, there’s a tendency to keep emotions and inner thoughts suppressed or hidden by the use of regal smiles or even a poker face.

‘Harry was clearly seething with emotions at this event, but we can see an effort to suppress and not declare them openly or to hide them from view as Meghan does.

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Beneath the surface, the cracks in the relationship between the brothers and their partners were beginning to appear

And then came the question from the presenter: Did the royals ever have disagreements?

William tried to laugh off the tricky question by responding with a drawn-out ‘Ohhhh yes’, with Harry jumping in quickly to clarify they were ‘healthy disagreements’.

Judi said: ‘It’s when the group are asked about disagreements that they all chuckle knowingly.

‘Meghan drops her head at this point with her hair completely shielding her face and therefore masking her thoughts, although it’s clear she is laughing.

‘Although Kate laughs, she keeps her face visible to share the laugh, even tucking her hair behind one ear.

‘Meghan puts one hand out onto Harry’s arm and turns away from Kate, even hiding her face with both her hands at one point, before doing a similar hair-flick as she does in the first clip.

‘Meghan’s responses look natural, and she would often raise a hand to her face to whisper playfully when out at events with Kate, but when royals are on display, there’s a tendency to keep emotions and inner thoughts suppressed or hidden by the use of regal smiles or even a poker face.

‘Harry was clearly seething with emotions at this event, but we can see an effort to suppress and not declare them openly or to hide them from view as Meghan does.

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View gallery

Beneath the surface, the cracks in the relationship between the brothers and their partners were beginning to appear

And then came the question from the presenter: Did the royals ever have disagreements?

William tried to laugh off the tricky question by responding with a drawn-out ‘Ohhhh yes’, with Harry jumping in quickly to clarify they were ‘healthy disagreements’.

Judi said: ‘It’s when the group are asked about disagreements that they all chuckle knowingly.

‘Meghan drops her head at this point with her hair completely shielding her face and therefore masking her thoughts, although it’s clear she is laughing.

‘Although Kate laughs, she keeps her face visible to share the laugh, even tucking her hair behind one ear.

‘Meghan puts one hand out onto Harry’s arm and turns away from Kate, even hiding her face with both her hands at one point, before doing a similar hair-flick as she does in the first clip.

‘Meghan’s responses look natural, and she would often raise a hand to her face to whisper playfully when out at events with Kate, but when royals are on display, there’s a tendency to keep emotions and inner thoughts suppressed or hidden by the use of regal smiles or even a poker face.

‘Harry was clearly seething with emotions at this event, but we can see an effort to suppress and not declare them openly or to hide them from view as Meghan does.

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Beneath the surface, the cracks in the relationship between the brothers and their partners were beginning to appear