He was seething with jealousy! That’s the claim Prince Harry made about his brother William – in an extraordinary row over BEARDS…
Most weddings suffer from a bit of ‘pre-match tension’ and there was certainly plenty of that in the run-up to Harry and Meghan’s fairytale ceremony in 2018.
There were angry words about bridesmaid dresses and tiaras. There was uncertainty as to whether or not the bride’s father, Thomas Markle, would be well enough to attend.
Ultimately, that wasn’t the case and Prince Charles walked Meghan down the aisle of St. George’s Chapel.
But one of the strangest disputes of all must have been the row over whether or not the groom could wear a beard, at least according to Prince Harry in his best-selling memoir Spare.
When Harry told the story, his older brother went so far as to try to ban his bristles and tell Harry they were inappropriate.
Meghan looks fondly at her bushy new husband – and his beard – on their wedding day in 2018
A clean-shaven Prince William is followed on his wedding day by his younger brother with a provocative beard
Prince Harry reveals argument about his beard in his controversial memoir, Spare
“Some thought a beard was a clear breach of protocol and long-standing norms, especially since I was getting married in my army uniform,” Harry explains in the book.
‘Beards were banned in the British army.’
In the memoir, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author JR Moehringer, Harry says he was driven to personally ask his grandmother, the late Queen, for permission, explaining that the beard made him feel calmer.
“Yes, she said, you can keep your beard,” Harry writes. “But then I explained it to my brother and he… was angry?
“Not a done deal,” he said. Military regulations, etc.’
Harry says he gave his older brother “a quick history lesson” using Google, showing William images of bearded and uniformed royal ancestors such as Edward VII and George V.
George V wore a beard in uniform – and at the altar, as Prince Harry explains
But when Harry played his trump card and explained that he had already received permission from their grandmother to keep the facial hair, William became ‘furious’.
Harry reports his brother saying, “You’ve put her in an awkward position, Harold!” She had no choice but to say yes.”
According to Harry, he adds that William “wouldn’t let it go” and that the argument continued “in person, on the phone, for over a week.”
It culminated, according to Harry, when William ordered him to shave off his beard.
Harry says he asked why on earth it mattered, but got this answer:
“Because I wasn’t allowed to keep my beard.”
A bearded Prince William at Sandringham in 2008, shortly after he had just completed his Special Forces training
The smiling brothers were beardless when they walked into Westminster Abbey on Prince William’s wedding day in 2011
Princess William and Kate wave to the crowd after their wedding service at Westminster Abbey in 2011
Harry concludes, “Ah, there it was. After returning from an assignment in the Special Forces, Willy had 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 benefit that had been denied him.”
It must be said that William never commented on the claims, or gave his side of the story.