When Prince William and Princess Kate shared a congratulatory video for Team GB at the Paris Olympics, fans couldn’t get over William’s beard. But now, it’s gone.
Heading to Sunday service at Crathie Kirk over the weekend, the Prince of Wales was spotted with Princess Kate sporting a clean-shaven look.
The Princess of Wales, who is still undergoing preventative cancer treatment, was seen at an event for the first time since her high-profile appearance at Wimbledon during the tennis finals.
But royal fans were more concerned about William’s appearance. One person joked: “Catherine saw women on the internet swooning over her husband’s beard and decided to make him shave it off. RIP beard.”
Others echoed the sentiment, saying: “It was fun while it lasted. PS: Don’t expect me to stop talking about his beard.”
Another joked: “I’m officially going into mourning for William’s beard. I’ve only seen it once but I’ll always remember it.”
And a fourth added: “Sexy cut was cancelled, tears all over the world ensued…”
But beards are more political than we might think, with an actual protocol for members to follow. In fact,Prince Harry stated in his book Spare that William was furious for over a week after he was allowed to have a beard, but William was not.
Harry wrote: “Some felt that a beard was a clear breach of protocol and long-standing norms, especially as I was getting married in my Army uniform. Beards were banned in the British Army.”
The Duke claimed he told the late Queen Elizabeth how having a beard made him feel calmer, to which she replied: “‘Yes,’ she said, ‘you can keep your beard.’
“But then I explained it to my brother and he… got mad? It’s not something you do, he said. Military rules, and so on.”
Harry also wrote in his book that William didn’t let up on the argument for over a week before asking him to shave his hair before the big day, with the duke asking why on earth it mattered.