Kate Middleton and Prince William's New Year Photo Shows They're a "Fun, Flirty Duo," Body Language Expert Says

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have a real-life fairytale. While they have certainly had their fair share of ups and downs over the years, these days the couple seems blissfully in love—and is becoming less and less shy about showcasing that love publicly.

To celebrate the New Year, the Cambridges posted a previously unseen photograph by Alex Bramall taken on the day of the No Time to Die premiere in London, with Kate Middleton in her breathtaking gold gown and Prince William in his suit and bowtie.

In this photo, they are grinning so wide you can hardly believe it, while clasping hands and looking totally in sync. All of these cues didn't escape the eagle eye of body language expert Judi James.

Speaking to Fabulous, James said the pic "reminded us of their enduring love."

She continued, "This simple, sexy and very loving photo that the Cambridges have chosen for their New Year message is subtly packed with what look like several coded messages about both their relationship with each other and their relationship with the UK public, with their future roles as King and Queen in mind.

"Why is it sexy? Because it looks so much like an echo of the poses we used to glimpse of the couple during their dating years, when they would often be seen flirting and getting tactile together in the back of limos after rolling out of parties.

"Since their wedding their body language together has been much more discreet but the choice of composition suggests they are still very much the same fun, flirty duo that they were back then."

The Cambridges met and began dating while attending the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. They briefly broke up, but soon got back together and tied the knot in 2011.

The expert remarked on the couple's "wide smiles and excited eye expressions," which pointed to them being "as totally impressed with each other as they were with the movie."

But that's not all! "Their mutual torso and head leaning in together shows their signature trait of mirroring, as does the matching symmetric smiles," James added. "This suggests not just like-minded thinking but also an emphatic power balance that should be an ongoing feature of their body language once they reach the throne. The hand clasp is an important signal as it also speaks of the enduring strength of their relationship together." BRB, squealing at the cuteness.

For the expert, the duchess' hand position is especially telling. "Kate is making what looks like a very firm statement here, by not just holding her husband’s hand but placing her other hand over the top of his in a gesture of affirmation and ownership that implies he is still very precious to her."

She also explained that the choice of setting for the photo—a car—is not a coincidence. The duke and duchess are "virtually placing us in the front seat of their car with them, like friends."

She continued, "We are being invited to share this moment like friends and it implies that, behind the normal social royal smiles, they really do like us which, from a family that has often been seen as haughty, remote and 'doing their duty' when they mix with their subjects, this hasn’t always been a given." I mean, I already have some friends, but there's always room for a couple more, right?