Prince William became so blind by “jealousy” that he reportedly pressured his little brother Prince Harry to remove his “confidence boosting” feature.
In his memoir Spare, the Duke of Sussex got candid about how the Prince of Wales was jealous of his beard and forced him to “shave it.”
Harry penned that William told him that his beard was “not appropriate” and encouraged him to shave even though it made him feel more confident and calmer, but his big brother was not convinced.
“A beard was thought by some to be a clear violation of protocol and long-standing norms, especially since I was getting married in my Army uniform. Beards were forbidden in the British Army,” Harry shared.
Following their talk, Harry asked Queen Elizabeth if he could keep the beard and was allowed to. However, William was not satisfied.
The Duke wrote, “Yes, she said, you may keep your beard. But then I explained it to my brother and he... bristled? ‘Not the done thing,’ he said. ‘Military rules, so forth.’”
Harry then shared some pictures with William of their ancestors, including Edward VII and George V, who were allowed to keep their facial hair.
William became “livid,” Harry claimed in his autobiography. He said to Harry, “You put her in an uncomfortable position, Harold! She had no choice but to say yes.”
The argument continued for more than a week with William reportedly ordering Harry to shave his beard off as he “wouldn't let it go.”
Harry then asked why it mattered, and William replied, “Because I wasn't allowed to keep my beard.”
“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,” Harry commented.
“He hated the idea of me enjoying a perk he'd been denied.”