Prince William, Prince Harry and More Royals With and Without Facial Hair — Which Look Reigns?

From full beards to dapper mustaches, royal men around the world have experimented with different looks.

The Prince of Wales, 42, shocked royal watchers when he appeared with facial hair for the first time in 15 years in a video issued on Aug. 11 with his wife, Kate Middleton. Prince William was last seen wearing a beard at Christmas in 2008 and seems to be sticking with the new look, inspiring a rundown of which royal men sport some scruff.

The Prince of Wales got the internet talking when he appeared with a beard in an Aug. 11 video congratulating Team Great Britain on their success at the 2024 Paris Olympics alongside Princess Kate. The prince was previously known to go clean-shaven in his public role, and facial hair was forbidden when he was in the Royal Air Force — though the British Army dropped the beard ban earlier this year!

It was a rare social media appearance for Princess Kate amid her cancer treatment (she later announced on Sept. 9 that she completed chemotherapy), and Prince William had some summer stubble in the upbeat clip. 

William was without the beard when he drove to church with his wife near Balmoral Castle on Aug. 25, but once more rocked some stubble in London on Sept. 5, informally resuming public engagements after the summer holidays.

The Prince of Wales has stuck with the scruff since, wearing a beard at outings in South Wales, RAF College Cranwell and Homewards Aberdeen in Scotland.

Prince Hairy, perhaps? His red hair has always been his trademark, but Prince Harry has had a beard since 2013 when he completed a charity trek to the South Pole with Walking With The Wounded.

Despite shaving shortly after, Harry went back and has been sporting the facial hair for years since, including his May 2018 royal wedding to Meghan Markle.

In his bestselling memoir Spare, published in 2023, the Duke of Sussex wrote that it caused tension with William when Queen Elizabeth gave him permission to wear a beard (then banned in the British Army) when he got married in military uniform.

When Harry asked his brother why he was bothered by their grandmother’s decision, William said, “Because I wasn’t allowed to keep my beard,” according to Spare.

“Ah — there it was,” Prince Harry wrote.