King Felipe VI has lived a week of many emotions. This June 19, 2024, ten years have been celebrated since he was proclaimed King of Spain and the Royal House has organized a series of events that have been very emotional and special, so much so that they have marked a before and after for the Crown. Felipe VI has been happier than ever to the point of almost getting emotional and cry in public. His speeches have been resounding and very personal and he has wanted to have constant gestures of love with both his wife, Queen Letizia, and his daughters, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía. King but also husband and, above all, father.
In summary, these days we have seen completely new gestures in King Felipe and that have brought us closer to the figure of the monarch. A Felipe dedicated and very affectionate with his family, grateful and excited with everyone, relaxed and spontaneous. However, we have also seen in the son of the emeritus kings gestures that are already part of his personality and his image. It has been ten years of reign and we already know more about our monarch, some of his usual quirks and gestures. One of them is continually touching the wedding ring and we wanted to analyze its meaning with an expert in language and non-verbal communication.
Why does Felipe VI continually touch his wedding ring?
Vanessa Guerra has analyzed the images of King Felipe in his speeches or poses and has valued the fact that he appears continually touching his wedding ring, which unlike Queen Letizia, he always wears. “He touches his hands constantly and they can be adaptive or self-manipulating gestures, which usually happen when someone is speaking, with a certain nervousness or before a public exhibition. The King does not have stage fright, but he does change his gestures,” he begins. To this she adds: “if we took off the wedding ring and she had a pencil in her hands she would also make these nervous movements, it is a way of regulating herself.”
“These adaptive or self-manipulating gestures help us sustain a moment that generates a certain nervousness, but above all they help us clarify and organize ideas when we are talking from memory, for example, and this may be the case of the King. Don Felipe turns his alliance because he uses the ring as a resource to calm down or organize your ideasit is nothing striking or that it represents anything about his marriage with Letizia or with him, it is a gesture that anyone can do,” the non-verbal communication expert tells us bluntly.
Sometimes touching the wedding ring, in the universe of non-verbal communication, can have to do with concern for life as a couple and this has been discussed many times with other public and royal figures, for example with Prince Harry. In the case of King Felipe it only has to do with some gestures to regulate himself while giving a presentation. “If we look closely, we see that he touches his ring finger just when he is talking about the impact of the events he attends and this gesture can allude to what his responsibility and identity is within that task. It can be a gesture of commitment and validate your presence“adds the expert.
Touching your hands and moving them while we speak or holding something between them, whether it be a pen or touching jewelry like a ring, are gestures that arise when we need to regulate ourselves in a situation that generates tension or nervousness, it is a way to feel safe while we want to convey something. Vanessa Guerra states this: “simply as we advance in the speech we need to move our hands and this helps us organize ideas, develop or memorize what we want to say“.
“In general terms, what we can perceive about the King is that he has an affable and close character. She transmits serenity even when she is wrong (like this week when she turned the medal upside down for the first recipient on the day of its proclamation and it was the Queen herself who realized it). He took it as a funny anecdote and she held back the laughter caused by the mistake. He is very observant but does not show tension at any timeknows how to handle compromising situations with diplomacy,” concludes in an analysis by Vanessa Guerra.
King Felipe VI, a happy and in love man
Despite the personal cost that his reign has entailed, as he himself confessed in his moving speech for the 10th anniversary of his proclamation, King Felipe is calm and satisfied with his journey. His experience already supports him and that is evident in the weight and confidence that he has in each appearance and in each speech, but of course it is not a path that he has taken alone. This same week he dedicated some words of love to the Queen. Of love and also of deep admiration and gratitude.
Doña Letizia, excited, listened to the King thanking her for her performance as queen consort of Spain and her great work within the Crown. “In all this time I have had the great support of the Queen. With will, dedication and sensitivity, his institutional activity has contributed enormously to giving visibility and attention to the needs of people, especially the most vulnerable,” said the monarch. Some words that, beyond their literal meaning, say a lot about the great moment in their marriage that they are going through after celebrating, a month ago, their 20 years of marriage.
He also wanted to dedicate a few words to his daughters, who wanted to surprise him during the toast by breaking protocol. “Likewise, the Queen and I have had the growing support of our daughters and we want this to also be a special anniversary for them, together with the young people of their generation, they have begun to live and understand with the necessary critical spirit and eagerness of learning the reality of our collective lives and the complex dynamics of the world,” he said emphatically.
