Prince Harry fights back tears at mention of Queen Elizabeth II in emotional video call

Prince Harry became visibly emotional during a video call with WellChild Awards winners when a family shared their condolences following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Duke of Sussex was not able to personally congratulate the winners in London on Sept. 8 as he had to fly to Balmoral Castle to be with his grandmother. But he made sure to catch up with the winners a month later in a video call from his home in Santa Barbara, California.

During the call, he spoke to 10-year-old Shakeerah, who said via sign language and translated by her mother, "I'm sorry about your grandmother, the Queen." At the mention of the late monarch, Prince Harry seemed to blink back tears.

According to Entertainment Times, body language expert Judi James noticed a "sad expression" on his face and a "twisting of his mouth and pulling up of his lower lip." She said, "At one point he performs a partial self-hug, rubbing his shoulder with one thumb in a self-comfort ritual before sucking his lips in and rubbing his nose."

James also noted, "It's hard to watch Harry here and not regret the fact that he is no longer a member of the royal Firm. He engages so well and shows empathy with the people he is talking to, as well as exposing his own emotions in a very natural way."

She acknowledged how "he is especially good with the children, who he mirrors and mimics to create some very natural bonds with, and who he talks to directly and easily, rather than talking over them at their parents."

James said that Prince Harry also knows how to make everyone feel at ease including the parents, who she noted appeared "to be slightly more confident than Harry and almost keen to put him at ease." She said this is "a testament to his ability to avoid any of the distancing or sense of status that can come with being royal."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were supposed to attend the WellChild Awards in London on Sept. 8, but they had to cancel following news of Queen Elizabeth II's death on the same day.