Although Prince Charles is now quite an accomplished public speaker, it was not always so.

As a younger man he was known to fiddle with his left cuff-link with his right hand - the royal equivalent of the crossed arms, putting a barrier between himself and the person he was talking to. After a while he stopped doing that, but every so often he would fiddle with his signet ring on the little finger of his left hand - not as much of a barrier. Sort of a half way house.

He now uses his waistcoat pocket.

Anybody who has done any public speaking, knows that if you start looking like a human windmill with arms flailing in all directions, then your message can get easily lost. By using his waistcoat pocket, he is keeping his body under control. The whole idea goes back many years to his father, who was then and is still often seen walking around with his hands behind his back.

Regards

Chas