Prince Harry appeared ‘nervous’ and performed ‘anxiety rituals’ before giving a speech in New York today, a body language expert has claimed.

The Duke of Sussex, who turned 40 last week, appeared on stage in the Big Apple without his wife Meghan Markle, to discuss mental health and climate change with two young winners of a legacy award given in Princess Diana’s memory.

There, while dressed in a crisp navy blue suit and donning a ‘Diana Award’ gold pin, the Duke cracked his knuckles, tugged at his blazer and pulled his tie, while his legs appeared to shake ever so slightly.

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According to body language expert Judi James, these gestures were sure signs of ‘nervousness’ and ‘anxiety’ – but she added he may have been well aware of his actions.

Reacting to a video of the Duke at the event, Judi explained: ‘Incredibly Harry performed no less than 19 gestures or rituals of anxiety or nervousness in the space of twenty-eight seconds here.

‘He is known to be a nervous speaker but he has rarely, if ever, displayed this amount of concentrated signals and the fact he is doing them on the stage rather than more privately off-stage only makes the body language look more curious, almost as though he is happy or comfortable projecting a message of inner anxiety.’

In addition to his sharp suit, the Prince sported a sky blue shirt and a tie of a darker hue, which Judy noted he pulled on ‘at least four times’.

She referred to the moments he toyed with his clothing as ‘rituals’, which to the expert were indicative of ‘nervousness’ and ‘self comfort’.

‘Self-touch, checking rituals like this suggest nervousness and a desire to create small barriers plus some degree of self-comfort,’ she said.

‘Harry tucks his jacket as he sits before adjusting his tie, which would both be common procedures. But then he pulls at his tie at least four more times and yanks at his jacket on three more occasions.

‘He also bounces in his chair, rubs his knees with both hands, squirms in his seat, performs two lots of leg judders and finishes by meshing his fingers to crack his knuckles, rub his thumbs together and then rub them onto his mouth.’

She added that his actions could be mistaken for ‘high-energy excitement’, if not for his facial expressions that instead signalled a look of anxiety; most especially ‘a frown and some sucking in of his lips’.

 ‘This could possibly be a way of revving up towards a performance or it could be the subject matter created some strong emotions. Or maybe he was just overwhelmed by last-minute nerves,’ she continued.

While at one point it appeared the Duke was so tense his face flashed bright red, he was also at times seen with an endearing smile; and happily engaged with his audience.

While he sat on stage, he spoke of the importance of mental wellness at an event where participants talked about their climate anxiety.

He personally interviewed Chiara Riyanti Hutapea Zhang from Indonesia and Christina Williams from Jamaica, who received The Legacy Award in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, joking: ‘For some reason I’ve been given the microphone to ask the questions.’

He told them: ‘I applaud you for having the confidence to be on this stage. I know my mother would be incredibly proud of you guys. Your activism is true to how my mother lived her life.’

Harry then asked: ‘Do you feel like leaders and people in positions of power are listening to you?’, adding that he wanted the The Diana Award to help their campaigning to tackle climate change and bring influence around the world.

And when asked what gives him hope for the future he said: ‘I have said it before years ago and I’ll say it again. The younger generation is what gives me hope. The courage you have gives me hope.

‘Everyone of us needs courage to move the dial in this world, probably more than ever. We need to listen and act on what you say because it is your future that will be stolen and that is unacceptable’.

His decision to jet off alone to New York to meet royals and celebrities before a solo trip to Britain shows he is determined to ‘carve out’ new opportunities and ‘assert himself’ after turning 40, experts told MailOnline today.

The Duke of Sussex is away from Montecito for the next eight days and went to a California benefit organised by Kevin Costner on Saturday, without his American wife.

Last night he attended a dinner organised by the World Health Organization (WHO), greeting Queen Mathilde of Belgium warmly on arrival.

On his trip to New York this week he will also support pet charities and businesses including African Parks, The HALO Trust, The Diana Award, and Travalyst. And this weekend he will fly to London for his annual visit to support WellChild at their awards ceremony, again without his wife.

This month he is said to have planned a lads-only weekend away with friends to mark his 40th birthday, but was with a smiling Meghan leaving a ‘double birthday’ event, held for their friend Tyler Perry, the night before the Prince’s own big day.

Biographer Phil Dampier, author of Royally Suited: Harry and Meghan In Their Own Words, said: ‘Harry sometimes feels like a spare part and he often looks unhappy when he’s out with Meghan at events in California. I think he has reached a point where he wants more for himself. He’s turned 40 and must be asking himself what the future holds.

‘I think he’s desperate to find some new meaning to his life and that seems to involve branching out on his own more.

‘He has this few days in New York and then he’s heading to London for the WellChild event with which he’s been involved for years.

‘He clearly wants to find some causes he can get involved in and give his life some purpose.

‘Meghan doesn’t want to come back to this country, so he will have to fly solo’.

Harry has reportedly been contacting some of his old friends ahead of his UK visit.

‘I’m sure he’s lacking some mates he can go out with for a beer and truly relax. The more he does things on his own and carves out some new projects, the more likely it is he can heal himself and eventually some of the divisions with his family, but it’s going to be a long road’, Mr Dampier said.

Royal expert and investigative journalist Tom Bower has said that Harry’s next week away shows he is trying ‘to assert himself’ alone.

He said: ‘It’s not just Harry doing repeated solo events which suggests a shift in his lifestyle and strategy to assert himself – not least in Britain’.