Prince William’s new beard causes a stir among fans in first royal engagement after summer holidays

For months, Prince William has made headlines for two reasons, his wife, Princess Kate’s cancer battle or his feud with his estranged brother, Prince Harry. But a recent outing has fans taking to X for an entirely different reason. 

The Prince of Wales returned to royal duties on Thursday after enjoying a summer break with his family, Kate and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. 

To mark his return, the 42-year-old heir to the throne attended the Homelessness: Reframed exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea, London, and sported an attention-grabbing look for the second time in the English summer. 

Prince William speaks to artist Robi Walters during the 'Homelessness: Reframed' exhibition. Photo / Getty Images

Wearing a light blue shirt and navy suit jacket with matching trousers, it wasn’t the immaculate outfit that had fan’s attention, but rather his rugged beard. 

The stubbled look appears to be one William is becoming increasingly fond of as he was seen sporting it again when he and Kate wished Team GB good luck ahead of the closing weekend of the Paris Olympics last month. 

The Prince and Princess of Wales offered a congratulatory message via Instagram to Team Great Britain at the closing of the Olympic Games, but it was Prince Williams beard that had everyone talking. Photo / Instagram @princeandprincessofwales

Taking to X, many royal fans have shared their excitement over William’s scruffy look. One person wrote, “William’s beard is back and he’s never looked better! Let’s hope he keeps the razor away this time ... because this glow-up is fire”. 

Another added, “blonde beard looks great on him”. While one fan added “So handsome!” 

“Prince William has a beard again. Thank you, William”, another wrote. 

William's fans are enjoying his bearded look. Photo / Getty Images

While there is rule to prevent working royals from growing a beard, royal experts have previously revealed Queen Elizabeth II did not like the look of facial hair on her husband, Prince Philip and ordered him to shave after he grew one during a solo Commonwealth tour in 1965. 

William’s bearded look may come as a surprise to some, including his brother. Harry has previously spoken about the controversy surrounding his own facial hair throughout the years. 

Whilst in the military, protocol states soldiers must be clean shaven, which Harry was, however upon leaving, he has made many appearances in military uniform - and a full beard. 

One instance was his wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018. Harry wrote in his bombshell memoir Spare that he had to ask his grandmother if he was allowed to keep his facial hair despite some seeing it as “a clear violation of protocol”. 

“I now dared to make another ask – Granny, please, may I, for my wedding, keep my beard?” Harry wrote. “Not a small ask either.” 

Prince Harry, left, speaking during an interview with ITV's Tom Bradby for the programme Harry: The Interview. Photo / ITV, AP

He revealed in the book that while the late Queen Elizabeth granted his request, it was William who allegedly disliked the idea. 

He told ITV while promoting his book last year, “I think William found it hard that other people told him to shave it off, and yet here I was on my wedding day wearing military uniform, no longer in the military, um, but thinking as though I – believing as though I should shave it off before my wedding day. 

“And I said, ‘Well I don’t believe that Meghan’s gonna recognise me if she comes up the aisle and sees me beardless’. I would feel very, very different without my beard, and that’s hard for people to understand who’ve never grown a beard, um, but hopefully those beard people out there will go ‘Yeah, no, I fully get that, I can understand’.” 

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This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.