Because their husbands are both in line for the British throne, Kate Middleton and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall might have identical royal duties in the future. Despite their “affectionate” friendship, a body language expert explained why they may not have developed “close bonds” yet.

Camilla married Prince Charles in 2005, and Kate joined the Royal Family six years later after marrying Prince William.

“The body language signals between these two women (and future Queens) here suggest polite affection,” she told Express.co.uk.

Kate Middleton and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, both serve similar roles in the Royal Family.

Kate, she said, seems to get along better with her father-in-law, Prince Charles, than she does with Camilla.

Judi said, “Most of their poses together tend to be on more formal royal occasions.”

“This will have an impact but we can see add-on signs of active attention and shared humour between Kate and Charles to suggest some strong father-and-daughter-in-law rapport.

“There are very few moments between Kate and Camilla where we are shown the two women using the more emphatic tie-signs that might suggest similarly close, relaxed and more easy-going bonding.”

Over the years, they’ve attended a number of events together.

Both ladies took on leadership roles in the family once they married.

Kate’s body language with Camilla was likened to how the Duchess of Cambridge interacts with the Queen, according to the expert.

She said: “When Kate is with the Queen she will often lean slightly to diminish the height gap and employ face-watching and eye contact to tune in.

“With Camilla there appears to be less of a tendency to close gaps and pay ongoing, active attention to one another.

While Kate aims to engage with the monarch on an individual basis, Judi claims she has not done so with Camilla.

She said: “The body language signals between these two women, and future Queens, here suggest polite affection.

It’s possible that the nature of their public appearances gave the impression of a more formal relationship.

“The pair clearly speak and exchange warm smiles,” Judi concluded.

“But it is Charles who seems to ‘light up’ the dynamic when he is present, cracking jokes and looking animated while Kate wrinkles her nose in a laugh of genuine humour and rapport while William and Camilla enjoy the fun from a slight distance.

“In many ways it looks as though it might be their shared affection for Charles is the prime tie that binds the two women.”