Both of their names start with an M, they’ve married two of the world’s most high-profile men…but the current public personas of Meghan Markle and Melania Trump could not be more polar opposite.
Indeed, according to our astute UK-based body language expert, the two women appear to have traded places when it comes to how they now want to be perceived in the public eye.
Judi James says while Meghan Markle, ahead of the launch of the royal’s new lifestyle documentary on Netflix – With Love, Meghan – appears to be introducing a softer persona, with echoes of ‘Trad Wife’, Melania suddenly appears like a corporate ice queen with no desire to be seen as a doting wife.
James told Femail: ‘Did anyone ever have a Meghan and Melania role-swap on their bingo card? Because that is how the re-branding of both women has currently worked out.
‘Mega-feminist Meghan, with all her signals of confidence and her DNA-based leadership skills is now adopting a floral-frocked ‘Trad wife’ role.
‘She’s gushing and squealing breathlessly about her ‘Husband and the father of my two sweet and exciting children’ packing lunchboxes with her, or whispering about honey and making sweet treats for her pals.’
Over in Washington DC? The First Lady’s demeanour is as icy as a February frost, as she shows the world, says James, that the last thing on her mind is looking like she’s playing house with Donald Trump.
‘Melania has stepped firmly out of her ‘surrendered trophy wife’ cos-play with President Trump to emerge looking like a formidable power-player with strong opinions of her own about how the country should be run.’
Melania Trump and Meghan Markle have traded how they are perceived by the public, according to body language expert Judi James (pictured: The official portrait of First Lady Melania Trump)
The body language expert believes Meghan has shifted to adopt a ‘youthful style’ when talking on her social media channels
James added: ‘This acute and dramatic role-swap is even more amusing given Trump’s recent roasting of Meghan.’
The US president told the New York Post last week he has no plans to deport Prince Harry from the US amid a legal battle over his immigration status – taking a swipe at his wife in the process.
‘I don’t want to do that,’ Trump said last Friday. ‘I’ll leave him alone. He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible.’
The barbed comment from the White House was just hours before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s appearance at the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games – and James suggests that it’s no coincidence the couple put on one of their most loved-up displays yet.
She says: ‘That seems to have produced a series of besotted, limpet-clinging poses from Meghan at Invictus.’
Compare to Meghan’s cooler approach during her earlier years with Harry. The 43-year-old’s public demeanour screamed strong woman; she would often look like she was headed straight to the boardroom.
Pictured: The Duchess of Sussex at the State Funeral of Her Majesty The Queen at Westminster Abbey, London, 2022
Meghan wasn’t afraid to show her husband affection when watching the Invictus Games 2025 in Vancouver
The mother-of-two previously presented herself in a more professional manner (seen at the first Royal Foundation Forum in central London with Prince Harry and the Princess of Wales)
It’s an approach that Melania, the 54-year Slovenian-American First Lady, appears to have adopted.
James said: ‘Melania’s most recent appearances have shown Trump appearing to attempt to engage and please his wife in public rather than the other way round.’
For instance, during the inauguration festivities, it was Donald who thanked his wife with a kiss during his ‘victory speech’.
Judi continued: ‘It’s now Melania posing for her official FLOTUS photo wearing all the non-verbal signals of power that Meghan once used on her cover of Time magazine’.
Melania Trump’s boardroom-esque official portrait, released as her husband Donald has made his way back to the White House after a historic election, sparked many comparisons.
Some noticed similarities between frames and promotional shots from the hit political thriller House of Cards while others on social media claimed it had a distinct ‘girlboss’ quality.
Judi similarly believes the portrait presents Melania as an independent and determined businesswoman.
The body language expert added: ‘Melania stands at the head of what looks like a boardroom table with her arms splayed in a gesture of confidence and her hands placed to signal territorial ownership.
Pictured: Prince Harry warmly embracing his wife in Meghan’s new cooking series, titled With Love, Meghan
Pictured: A still shot from Meghan’s upcoming Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, due to air 4 March
The 54-year-old regularly donned floral printed dresses during her first time as First Lady (seen in India’s Rashtrapati Bhavan Presidential Palace in New Delhi in 2020)
The Slovenian-American First Lady has shifted away from more feminine ensembles (seen with Donald at the he Oval Office of the White House in 2019)
Donald Trump pecked his wife on the cheek during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington in January
‘Her sharply tailored suit is the epitome of power-dressing and her straight gaze to camera makes her look almost more formidable than her husband.’
It’s a fierce exterior that Meghan appears to have traded in, according to the body language expert.
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Judi said: ‘Meghan, meanwhile, has adopted the kind of ‘Oh gosh’, breathless and youthful style of a social media influencer. Her asides to the camera look coy and her gesticulation, with hair-tossing, head-holding, baby-clapping and eye-rolling, seem counterintuitive compared to all her signature and enviable skills as a professional orator.’
It was a display that some royal fans noticed in Meghan’s latest Instagram post, where she gushed over the Billie Eilish merchandise that she managed to secure for a victim of the LA fires.
In the video shared on Tuesday, Markle, who was dressed casually in an sweatshirt embroidered with her two kids’ names on it, Lilibet and Archie, began excitedly sharing that something she was expecting in the mail had finally arrived.
Judi concluded: ‘Where Melania was once the silent Sphynx and fashion plate in the shadow of her husband, she has now emerged in the guise of a strong working woman, penning her own book and stating that she has her own opinions that don’t always agree with her husband’s.
‘Meghan, meanwhile, is now acting like her husband’s cheerleader and fan in Canada, while her TV series suggests she is the jam-making, bee-whispering hostess with the most-est behind the scenes in Montecito.
‘She’s mentioned lunchboxes in both her last two appearances and it’s hard to not imagine her packing one with all her home-made sweet treats for her beloved husband to take to work, while she stays at home to re-fold the hand-embroidered linen napkins.’