Like it or not, Prince William with a beard is something that needs getting used to. He’s usually clean shaven so when his daughter, Princess Charlotte, saw him with facial hair for the first time, her reaction wasn’t what he expected.
The Prince of Wales got candid about how he had upset his nine-year-old daughter so much with his beard in an interview on Nov. 7 to mark the end of his four-day visit to Cape Town, South Africa for this year’s Earthshot Prize Awards. He said his initial plan to grow it didn’t go quite as planned because she burst into tears seeing him looking different.
“Well, Charlotte didn’t like it the first time. I got floods of tears, the first one I got tears, so I had to shave it off,” he shared. Thankfully, he gets to keep the beard now as Princess Charlotte didn’t have another emotional reaction the second time around. William added: “Then I grew it back. I thought, hang on a second, and I convinced her it was going to be okay.”
The dad-of-three also mentioned his children when he greeted the locals who had gathered to see him. He shared that he had enjoyed his time in Cape Town and told one well-wisher: “It’s lovely to be here. I love Cape Town, I have had the most amazing welcome. I don’t wanna go.” He said his “children would love to be here and so would Catherine.” Aside from rocking the beard, the Prince of Wales also sported a bracelet with the word “Papa” handmade and gifted to him by Princess Charlotte.
Prince William has since wanted to grow a beard and was livid when told to shave his off, according to Prince Harry in his memoir Spare. He recalled a conversation, or more like an argument he had with his brother in the leadup to his 2018 wedding to Meghan Markle. He was able to keep his facial hair even though Armed Forces has a strict rule against it while in uniform. But he said he got his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II’s permission to keep it. He wrote in excerpts obtained by Hello!
“I explained it to my brother and he… bristled? ‘Not the done thing’, he said. ‘Military, rules, so forth.’ I gave him a quick history lesson. I mentioned the many royals who’d been bearded. King Edward VII. King George V. Prince Albert. More recently, Prince Michael of Kent. Helpfully I referred him to Google Images. ‘Not the same,’ he said. When I informed him that his opinion didn’t really matter, since I’d already gone to Granny and got the green light, he became livid.
Prince Harry said Prince William “raised his voice” and incredulously asked him: “You went to ask her!’ When he told him that Granny said “keep the beard” he argued: “You put her in an uncomfortable position, Harold! She had no choice but to say yes.”
The Duke of Sussex said his brother was upset mainly because unlike him, he was told to shave off his full beard and that he he’d “hated the idea” that he gets to enjoy a perk he’d been denied.
“He was being ridiculous, and I told him so. But he kept getting angrier and angrier. Finally I told him flatly and defiantly that his bearded brother was getting married soon, and he could either get on board or not. The choice was up to him.”
It’s clear from Prince Harry’s book that Prince William badly wants a beard. Now he gets to grow it without being told to shave it off. Unless, Princess Charlotte changes her mind again.
Published: Nov 8, 2024 03:43 am