‘Openness rather than distance’: How Queen revolutionised mother’s royal wave tradition

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The Queen’s royal wave is not just something fans of her Majesty fondly mimic, but it has come to representing something important about the monarch, an expert has told Express.co.uk. It shows “openness rather than distance”.

According to body language expert Judi James, the Queen learned her idiosyncratic royal wave from her mother.

The Queen Mother, however, had a more old fashioned wave, which “ephasised” the difference between the Queen and her husband, George VI, and the public.

Judi told Express.co.uk exclusively: “The Queen was taught (the royal wave) by her mother who was the most famous exponent.

“The Queen Mother would bend her right arm at the elbow, bringing the lower arm up at a 45 degree angle to the upper arm and turn the fingertips in small, circular motions.

“The hand might also drop and come up again in a small sweeping motion.

“This wave implied graciousness but it also emphasised the large gap between the royals and the rest of us.”

However, Queen Elizabeth II, when she rose to the throne at only 27, would soon adopt her mother’s wave and make it her own.

Judi went on: “The Queen did move with the times though, gradually changing the wave as she got older to a less aloof gesture by raising her right elbow slightly and showing the palm of her hand towards the public rather than the back.

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“Her fingers became more splayed and instead of an air of gracious condescension we got a much more friendly-looking greeting signal, with the palm display suggesting openness rather than distance.”

And there is a good reason this wave was a hit with the crowds, Judi claims.

She said: “This ‘new wave’ of the Queen’s also allowed for mirroring from the waiting crowds.

“Nobody would have returned the Queen Mother’s wave like-for-like but the Queen’s wave became a returnable gesture of rapport.”

“Her fingers became more splayed and instead of an air of gracious condescension we got a much more friendly-looking greeting signal, with the palm display suggesting openness rather than distance.”

And there is a good reason this wave was a hit with the crowds, Judi claims.

She said: “This ‘new wave’ of the Queen’s also allowed for mirroring from the waiting crowds.

“Nobody would have returned the Queen Mother’s wave like-for-like but the Queen’s wave became a returnable gesture of rapport.”

Princess Anne has said in the past: “The theory was that you couldn’t shake hands with everybody, so don’t start.

“So I kind of stick with that, but I noticed others don’t.”

Judi James also described Meghan Markle’s wave, dubbing it “sweet, cute and tentative.” 

She told Express.co.uk her wave was an “important signal.”

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