King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived to Paris earlier today, kicking off a three-day tour of France, but Emmanuel Macron stole the show with his hands-on display.

The French President could not keep his hands off the head of the British Royal Family and was snapped several times touching Charles on both the arm and the back.

The pair are known to have a friendly relationship, but body language expert Judi James believes there may have been a little more behind the seemingly innocent gestures.

She told Daily Express US: “These two did appear to greet each other as old friends, or even father and son, but in terms of political body language, Macron’s ‘power pats’ here do seem intent on giving the impression that he is the one in control.”

While Charles didn’t seem to take offense to the touching, James points out that patting another person can come across as patronizing.

She added: “In normal life, we pat children and dogs, so the gesture is seen as a blend of ‘friendly’ but also ‘dominant’ or even parental in the world of global leadership.”

James went on to explain that there is an unspoken rule, not to touch royals, but it seems that these days may be more lax.

Se added: “Tactile displays like this can suggest a more intimate and relaxed form of friendship but it’s unusual to see royalty being touched quite this much and Macron’s pats do look like steering or even ownership gestures.

“There’s no cold stares from Charles to hint at any thought of a breach of protocol and, of course, and there was a big hint from the Palace while the Queen was alive that touch is not something that is totally banned, especially when it’s a foreign visit.”

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Friendly or fake kindness, it seems like Macron knows what he’s doing, according to James: “Macron is a master of the body language two-step though, often signaling one thing with something else completely different running as an undertone.

“So he’s keen to look friendly here, although the subliminal message seems to be that ‘I’m in charge’.”

We have a feeling if King Charles was not okay with the pats, he would have made it known. 

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