Beards of Windsor: All the times the royals rocked facial hair
Prince William has sent royal fans into a spin with his new beard. Here’s how royal facial hair has caused controversy over the years. Take our poll.
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Prince William has surprised royal fans by rocking a beard in a new video with Princess Catherine as the couple congratulated Great Britain’s Olympics team ahead of the 2024 closing ceremony.
It’s a striking new look for the normally clean-shaven future monarch.
However, it’s not clear if his newly acquired facial hair is here to stay or if the royal has temporarily gone into chilled-out dad mode during the British summer school holidays.
Footage of the bearded royal, shared across Prince William and Princess Catherine’s social media channels, has sparked memories of previous royal flirtations with facial hair.
King Charles was known to sport a beard from time to time during his playboy prince phase of yesteryear as did Prince Andrew during his navy years.
In 1975, King Charles daringly opted for the look of the moment when he flaunted a dashing — and short-lived — moustache when he was installed as Great Master of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.
Prince William’s latest foray into facial hair is not his first time at the rodeo.
The then unmarried William was spotted with a full beard in 2008 at the royal family’s Christmas Day service as he arrived with his clean-shaven and baby-faced brother, Prince Harry.
Prince Harry has since held true to his beard for years, even going so far to describe how it was a “shield to my anxiety” and a “really big part of my identity”.
The ginger-haired royal’s beard even sparked a pre-wedding drama with Prince William, who was apparently annoyed that the late Queen Elizabeth gave Harry permission to keep his beard for his wedding day when he tied the knot with Meghan Markle.
Speaking to ITV’s Tom Bradby at the time of the publication of his explosive memoir Spare, Prince Harry told how the late Queen had been amenable to him keeping his beard.
However, Prince William, adhering to strict Armed Forces rules around facial hair while in uniform, was not and ordered his younger brother to shave it off.
It was a battle the elder brother did not win and the beard stayed in place.
A royal bridegroom sporting a beard on their big day was previously a rarity, but the late Queen’s grandfather, George V, did have a beard when he married Mary of Teck.
For decades, the length and style George V’s facial hair was the “acceptable” benchmark for Australia’s emergency services including the NSW Police Force.
Royal in-laws James Middleton, brother of Princess Catherine, and Mike Tindall, husband of William’s cousin Zara, are also fans of the rugged look.
Fast forward to the present and fans have reacted favourably to the normally clean-shaven Prince William’s alpha male appearance.
In the video, Princess Catherine, seen in a striped top, says: “From all of us watching at home, congratulations to Team GB.”
William, wearing a Team GB shirt, adds: “Well done with all you’ve achieved. You’ve been an inspiration to us all.”
One fan posted: “Pardon me ladies... I need to cool down. Prince William looks so handsome with a bit of facial stubble.”
Another said: “Oh William.”
And a third said: “THE BEARD?!”
BURNING QUESTION KATE ASKED WILLIAM
Millions watched as the then Kate Middleton tied the knot with Prince William in a fairytale ceremony in 2011.
But it turns out that royal fans may have missed a sweet question Princess Catherine asked her new husband in the carriage ride after they left Westminster Abbey.
According to royal biographer Robert Jobson, the beautiful bride had a three-word query as they left the church, The Sun reports.
He wrote in his new book, Catherine: The Princess of Wales: The Biography, that as William and Catherine climbed into their “one-topped carriage”, she turned to him and asked “are you happy?”
Prince William is said to have sweetly responded: “It was amazing. I’m so proud you’re my wife”.
The future King and Queen celebrated 13 years of marriage privately this year - as Princess Catherine continues to recover following her cancer diagnosis.
She praised her husband for his support during “an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family” in an emotional message to the nation this year announcing her health news.
“Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance,” she said.
Catherine, 42, told how her diagnosis had come as a huge shock and that she and William “have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family”.
Catherine and William first met while studying art history at St Andrew’s University, where the Prince fell head over heels for his fellow student.
During their second year, the pair become roommates - the point at which William said their relationship “blossomed”.
In October 2010, it was announced that Catherine and William were engaged following a proposal in Kenya.
The loved-up Prince said at the time: “We had a little private time away together with some friends, and I just decided it was the right time, really.
“We’d been talking about marriage for a while, so it wasn’t a massively big surprise, but I took her up somewhere nice in Kenya.”
On April 29, 2011, the happy couple tied the knot at Westminster Abbey in London in a televised event which was watched by millions all over the world.
William and Kate welcomed their first child George in 2013, followed by Charlotte in 2015 and Louis in 2018.
KATE, WILLS TO CHOOSE GEORGE’S SCHOOL
It comes as speculation is mounting that Prince George will follow in his father’s footsteps and attend Eton College.
Unlike many 11-year-olds around the UK, Prince George won’t be going to secondary school in September, The Sun reports.
The Lambrook prep school educates children up to the age of 13, meaning the future king will have two years before he moves on to his next school.
While it has not been confirmed which school he will move to, royal expert Ingrid Seward told The Sun that Eton College, attended by Prince William and Prince Harry, was the most obvious choice.
Ms Seward said Princess Catherine that the historic college’s proximity to Windsor Castle was a plus for the mother-of-three as it means he will not have go to boarding school.
“They [William and Kate] will have their choice of schools, and they can look at as many as they like, and they don’t actually have to make a choice nearly as early as anyone else would,” she told The Sun.
“So they have that advantage. “They’ve looked at Eton. She [Kate] probably doesn’t want him to go to boarding school at all, and it’s possible that he won’t.
“But I mean, that’s what makes Eton look very likely, because it is so near to where they’re living.”
However, if Eton is the top choice, Prince George will have to pass some rigorous exams.
“They have to do an exam to get in, and they have to pass certain exams, “ Ms Seward told The Sun.
“I think they do an entrance exam before they get in, and if they pass the Eton entrance exam, then they probably have to go through the rigours of interviews and things.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales have also been spotted taking a tour of Catherine’s former private school in Wiltshire, Marlborough College.
Catherine is said to have enjoyed her time there and may not have ruled it out as an option, The Sun reports.
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