Sarah Ferguson ‘flicks between emotional extremes’ at royal wedding as she arrives alone

Sarah Ferguson, 58, also known as Fergie, has a complicated relationship with the royal family.

While the Duchess of York is no longer royalty herself, she is the mother of Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie – who are eighth and ninth in line to the British throne respectively.

She is also the ex wife of Prince Andrew, 58, the younger brother of Prince Charles, 70, heir apparent to the British throne.

So how did she feel turning up at the royal wedding of her nephew Prince Harry? It is believed she went between “emotional extremes” of determination, sadness and regret, according to a body language expert.

This was the first major royal event she had been invited to since she was shunned from the 2011 wedding of Kate Middleton, 36, and Prince William, 35.

What’s more, Sarah turned up alone – completing the Long Walk to Windsor Castle solo while her ex husband and daughters arrived together.

Judi James, a body language expert, gave her verdict on Sarah’s arrival in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk.

She told us: “Sarah’s speedy stride with swinging arms implied a breezy determination as she walked up to the entrance of the royal wedding chapel alone, but her subtler ‘leakage’ gestures implied that her bravado was all an act.

“Arriving apart from your ex and your daughters must be a very poignant experience and being one of the only guests to do the long walk into the wedding totally alone only added to Sarah’s apparent isolation.

“Sarah was always one of the most natural and least masked of the royals in terms of body language and her facial expressions during the walk flicked between two emotional extremes.”

While Sarah was “delighted” by the crowd’s response to her, she later was said to show “regret”.

“The response from the crowd seemed to surprise and delight her because she performed a broad, jolly-looking smile as she waved in response,” said Judi.

“The smile was a lightning smile though, gone in a flash and in its place we saw her suck her lips in as she glanced forward, forming an expression normally associated with sadness or regret.”

“In between the more regular waves she even performed a ‘baby wave’ where the hand is held low and the fingers bent down and then straightened as a small child might wave, suggesting feelings of vulnerability and a desire to be liked.”

Later on, the former royal – commonly known for her confidence and openness – showed signs of “status-lowing”.

“When she saw her hosts at the door she flung her arms out in an expression of warm emotion and then hugged and patted one of them in the spontaneously emotional style she was always famous for.

“Inside the chapel though her posture and demeanor defined subtle acts of status-lowering.

“Fergie ducked her head slightly and almost crept up the aisle, popping into the seats to greet people warmly in an emphatically humble and un-royal way that suggested she might have been keeping her head down for the occasion.

However, Judi speculated Sarah may act differently at her daughter Princess Eugenie’s royal wedding which is coming up on October 12.

“Of course there is another royal wedding coming up in the autumn and this time Sarah’s status will be elevated to Mother of the Bride.

“It should be interesting to see how her non-verbal signals change for that event.”