Many royal enthusiasts may recall the widely circulated image of a bearded Prince William at Sandringham on Christmas Day in 2008, resurfacing on social media following the publication of Prince Harry’s revealing memoir, “Spare.”
Prince Harry, in a historic move, was the first to don a beard on his wedding day to Meghan Markle, having obtained formal approval from his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Detailing the incident when his facial hair caused friction with his brother, Harry disclosed that William responded with a “bristled” reaction to his courteous request. “Not the done thing,” William remarked, citing military regulations. The disagreement persisted “in person, on the phone, for more than a week” before William admitted that his objection to Harry’s facial hair stemmed from his own inability to maintain one. Harry 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.”
Prince William’s fleeting venture into facial hair during the noughties marked a playful and coming-of-age period in the royal’s life. Recently graduated from St Andrews University, rekindled with Kate Middleton after a publicized breakup, and about to embark on attachment to the Royal Air Force, William, captured in rediscovered 2008 photographs, appears almost unrecognizable with a full, lush beard. At the time, Prince William and Princess Kate, then his girlfriend, were spotted leaving the chic Whisky Mist nightclub after a night of dancing. Reports from that era note Kate’s earlier dinner with her sister Pippa Middleton at the ‘Eight Over Eight’ restaurant in Chelsea.
Given Prince Charles’ more senior position within the Firm, the likelihood of seeing him with a beard again seems slim. Nevertheless, these photos evoke a sense of nostalgia for the noughties era.
