I Need to Talk About Prince William's New Beard

When it comes to royal surprises as of late, they've mostly been coming in the form of appearances by Kate Middleton.

The Princess of Wales, 42, surprised royal fans with her appearance at Trooping the Colour. She excited us all by showing up to Wimbledon alongside her daughter, Princess Charlotte. And this past weekend, she gave us an unexpected video appearance to thank the Olympic athletes from Team Great Britain. And yet the biggest royal surprise in recent memory? It has to be Prince William's new beard. And I definitely need to talk about it.

This past Sunday, Prince William, 42, and Princess Catherine shared a video on their joint Instagram account giving a special shoutout to Team GB (alongside none other than Snoop Dogg). Of course, it was lovely for all of us to see the princess looking so well. But my eyes were immediately drawn to Prince William, who was giving us full on scruff (and a surprising amount of visible chest hair).

Now, a royal beard shouldn't be all that surprising. After all, Prince Harry has sported one for years. Even their father, King Charles, used to don a beard in his younger years (and he looked so much like Prince Harry). The pic below shows him bearded back in 1976.

And for those who may not remember, this isn't the first time we've seen William with facial hair. Here he is sporting a beard back in 2008 at Christmas Day service, two-and-a-half years before he'd tie the knot with Catherine.

So why am I so surprised to see the future monarch looking a bit unkempt? Probably because he gave Prince Harry such a hard time about his beard.

In an excerpt from his memoir, Spare, the Duke of Sussex, 39, recalled a conversation he had with his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, regarding his facial hair.

“After all the stress of asking Granny for permission to marry Meg, I thought I’d never have the courage to ask her for anything else,” Prince Harry wrote. “And yet I now dared to make another ask: Granny, please, may I, for my wedding, keep my beard? Not a small ask either.”

Prince Harry explained that facial hair is seen as unprofessional, especially when paired with an Army uniform. “A beard was thought by some to be a clear violation of protocol and long-standing norms, especially since I was getting married in my Army uniform,” he continued.

And while the queen allowed Harry to keep the beard for the upcoming wedding, his brother apparently wasn't happy since he was forced to shave his own beard while working with the Special Forces. Prince Harry added, “At one point, [William] actually ordered me, as the Heir speaking to the Spare, to shave.” 

Clearly, the "order" didn't work.

So after his long history with beards (having to shave his own and then wanting Harry to shave his), is William rebelling by growing new stubble? Is he kicking off a new royal beard era? Is he hitting a mid-life crisis? (Will, I can relate.) Regardless, I find the new look refreshing. In a year of many major royal changes, why not embrace the change with one more?

Long live the royal facial hair!

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