Prince William’s hidden dig at Prince Harry with his surprising new look

Prince William’s recent appearance sporting a beard has sparked speculation, not just about his new look, but whether it carries a hidden message directed towards his younger brother, Prince Harry.

The unexpected return of facial hair has led some to wonder if this is a subtle dig at Harry, whose own beard has been a point of contention between the two brothers.

Back in 2008, William made headlines when he first grew a beard, turning heads at a Christmas Eve football match near the Sandringham Estate. The following day, his bearded appearance at the royal family’s Christmas Day walk to church caused quite a stir, though the beard was short-lived, vanishing soon after.

Fast forward to today, and William has once again embraced his bearded look, emerging from a family holiday with the Princess of Wales in a video congratulating Team GB’s Olympians. The return of his beard has prompted comparisons to Prince Harry, who has written extensively about the significance of his own facial hair.

In his memoir Spare, Harry describes how his beard helped him manage anxiety and symbolised his personal growth. Before his wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018, Harry had to seek permission from Queen Elizabeth to keep his beard, as it was against military regulations. Although the late Queen granted him this allowance, the decision allegedly infuriated William. According to Harry, his brother became “livid” over the matter, insisting that Harry should shave. The disagreement reportedly stretched on for over a week, with William unhappy that Harry was enjoying a privilege he had been denied when he sported a beard years earlier.

In Spare, Harry writes that having a beard had become “an effective check on my anxiety. Illogical, but true … it helped, along with therapy and meditation, and a few other things, to quell my nerves.”