Prince William debuts new style, echoing past tensions with Prince Harry
Prince William sported a new look during his summer break away from royal duties.
Prince William and Kate Middleton appeared in a video among other celebrities to celebrate Team Great Britain as the Paris Olympics wrapped up. The video came amid the duration of the couple’s break from the royal duties. While Kate’s appearance in the middle of her cancer treatment drew attention, people were more intrigued by Prince William’s new look in the video. The video was uploaded on August 11, 2024.
Also Read: Why Meghan Markle actually ‘thought Harry deserved more’ than Wales
Prince William’s new look
Prince William always donned his classic look with a clean shave which might be a bit he adopted during his time in the Royal Air Force where facial hair is forbidden. However, in this new video, he was seen in a new look with a beard as he appeared next to Kate. The look reminded people of his 2008 beard look when he joined the royal family in their Christmas Day church outing in 2008. But that phase did not last for long, hence, Prince William’s long return to this look surprised everyone.
The Duke of Cambridge said in the video, "From all of us watching at home, congratulations to Team GB!” Kate added, “Well done on all you've achieved. You've been an inspiration to us all”. Prince William wore a casual white T-shirt with black stripes in the video.
Other celebrities who were featured in the video included Snoop Dogg, David Beckham and more.
Also Read: Prince Harry's goes viral on TikTok, this time for some Willy reasons
Prince Harry’s beard caused tension with Prince William in past
In contrast to Prince William, his younger brother, Prince Harry has kept a beard since 2015. His first bearded look was spotted in 2013 during a charity trek to the South Pole with Walking with the Wounded but shaved it afterwards, only for its return a couple of years later. However, the Duke of Cambridge was not happy with his younger brother’s look, as told by Meghan Markle.
In his memoir, Spare, the Duke of Sussex mentioned he took permission from his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth to keep the beard for his wedding ceremony. Beards are forbidden in the British Army and he was going to wear his Army uniform for his wedding and had to keep a beard as Markle had never seen him without one.
Prince William “bristled” despite the Queen’s permission and asked his sibling to “shave it off”. When Prince Harry asked for his reason, the 42-year-old said, “Because I wasn't allowed to keep my beard," Harry wrote in his book. He added, “Ah — there it was. After he'd 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.