'It's Quite Common': Prince William Is Channeling Prince Philip and King Charles With His New Beard
Prince William shocked fans when he returned to Instagram with facial hair, but his new look could be the Prince of Wales' way of paying homage to King Charles and Prince Philip.
"Traditionally royals had beards. If you go back in time to the Middle Ages, they always did. It has gone in and out of fashion over different royal eras. The late Prince Philip sometimes sported a beard," Grant Harrold said on behalf of Slingo.
"The King, King Charles has been seen with a beard, and both Prince William and Harry have too," the former royal butler noted. "It’s quite common for royals to go through phases of having a beard, like many men do during their lifetime. For the royals, it’s personal choice, yes it’s to do with fashion, but it’s also to do with what they feel like doing at the time."
Typically, William is seen with a cleanly shaved face, but in an Instagram post shared on Sunday, August 11, the future king surprised fans with his stubble.
"It’s been interesting to see quite a bit of debate about it because William has sported a beard in the past as well, and Harry has for years," Harrold stated. "Because they’re such recognizable people, when they change their appearance in any way, there’s a lot of discussion about it because it’s a new look."
"The comments are overall very positive, people seem to like the look. It seems like it’s his inner royal from a bygone era, not just his father but his grandfather, and great, great grandfather," he added.
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OK! previously reported the pair took to social media to celebrate Great Britain's achievements at the 2024 Olympics.
"Well done @teamgb, what an incredible journey! Every athlete showed immense dedication, heart and passion," the couple shared in an Instagram post. "You made us all so proud! Here’s to celebrating every triumph at @paris2024 and looking forward to more from @paralympicsgb_official later in the summer."
But people couldn't help but focus on William.
"Great to Catherine again, and William unshaved haha, it’s been years since we’ve seen that, what a sight," one user penned.
"Kate looking beautiful & here for Will’s stubble," another person wrote.
"WILLIAM BEARD ERA IS BACK," another person said while fawning over the dad-of-three.
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William's appearance became a trending topic when the Duke of Sussex claimed his brother demanded he remove his beard leading up to his 2018 wedding. In Spare, Harry revealed that the future queen wasn't allowed to keep his five o'clock shadow, but Queen Elizabeth didn't enforce the rule for the Duke of Sussex.
"Because I wasn't allowed to keep my beard," William allegedly said.
"Ah — there it was," Harry wrote. "After he's come back from an assignment with Special Forces, Willy was sporting a full beard, and someone told him to be a good boy, run along and shave it. He hated the idea of me enjoying a perk he'd been denied."