If you want to see a vivid example of a woman who has fully come into her own, just look at the Princess of Wales. Early on, Kate was shy, timid, and nervous, but in the last couple of years she has fully embraced her power within the royal family and exuded confidence.

But there she is now, and the Daily Express reports that Kate has taken one lesson from her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, and is showing off how secure she is within herself: "All I can say about Kate Middleton is that she has a very great level of confidence and inner conviction. So you can put her in any situation and she can be her natural self," says body language expert Darren Stanton. 'If you look at how Princess of Wales has evolved, she used to be quite quiet and disregardful of a lot of things. Even the way she walks, she walks with a lot of swagger. In some contexts, that can mean arrogance, but not in her case. She is confident because she doesn't look back no matter who she is with."

Kate has recently completed a number of solo assignments, allowing her to work and act independently of her husband, Prince William, even when they are out together. 'It's what Prince Charles tends to do with Queen Camilla. With Kate, she makes great strides. She doesn't make nervous gestures."

Not necessarily so with other senior royals, he says, who are born into the role. 'I still see the occasional gesture like William or Harry sticking their hands into their jackets,' he says. 'I don't see any kind of signal of anxiety or distress from Kate. All of her gestures are very deliberate and positive."

Stanton said she has noticed that Kate has adopted some of the techniques used by Princess Diana while performing her royal duties, particularly after attending Sunday's Rugby World Cup match against Fiji in Marseille, France, where Kate was in England She noted that she had recently met with a rugby player.

"During her engagement, Kate was reminiscent of Princess Diana. 'Diana never flaunted her royalty. She was a natural, and Kate looks a lot like her. In many of these pictures we saw true emotions of happiness and joy in her countenance. She truly delights in meeting people from all walks of life and always treats them with dignity and respect."[11

Stanton also noted that Kate's choice of costume was part of her strategy, and that the white blazer she chose allowed her to "downplay" her presence in order to let the players shine.

"Kate's body language has changed since becoming Princess of Wales, but perhaps not in the way people expected," Judy James, another body language expert, told the Daily Express. 'The pressure may have triggered signs of anxiety or impostor syndrome, but instead her confidence signals have been on the rise lately. She now fully embraces and understands her role, suggesting that she not only understands it, but is comfortable with it."[16