Judi James on Kate Middleton's First Public Speech

Body language expert Judi James analyses Kate Middleton’s first public speech since becoming a princess.

The Duchess of Cambridge made her first televised speech as part of the Royal Family when she greeted crowds at the launch of The Treehouse in Ipswich, a hospice run by East Anglia's Children's Hospices.

Judi James, who has been analysing celebrities and the royals for 30 years, told Yahoo! News that the Duchess came across as charming and warm during her two-minute speech.

James, who runs workshops for businesses on how to speak at conferences, also had some words of advice for Kate.

“I thought she seemed overtrained and too choreographed. She kept looking down at her notes and it sounded a little staccato – a bit like a wedding speech. The speech didn’t allow her to gaze around the audience and it restrained her natural personality.

She added: “I can tell she will be a good speaker, but she needs to be in control.

The Duchess told fellow supporters of the charity: “The feelings you inspire - feelings of love and of hope - offer a chance to families to live a life they never thought could be possible. So thank you again for inviting me here today. I feel enormously proud to be part of East Anglia's Children's Hospices and to see the wonderful life - changing work that you do. Thank you.”