Charlotte burst into floods of tears as William followed Harry’s bold move

Royal watchers have gone wild for Prince William’s rugged new look. The future King debuted a new beard back in August and his facial hair looks here to stay – much to the delight of his fans. Not everyone loves William’s look, however. Princess Charlotte had a major reaction to her dad’s beard the first time she saw it.

William was asked about his stubble at the end of a four-day visit to Cape Town in November. He admitted: “Charlotte didn’t like it the first time. I got floods of tears the first time I grew a beard, so I had to shave it off. And then I grew it back. I thought, hang on a second and I convinced her it was going to be okay.”

When one of the reporters noted that the Prince’s new facial hair gives him a laid-back, ‘relaxed’ look, William expressed surprise. “It’s interesting you say that, because I couldn’t be less relaxed this year, so it’s very interesting you’re all seeing that,” he said about the past 12 months, which saw both his wife, Princess Kate, and father, King Charles, diagnosed with cancer. “But it’s more a case of just crack on and you’ve got to keep going,” he said.

It comes after Prince Harry claimed that William was “jealous” of the fact he had a beard at his wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018 – and ordered him to shave it off. Harry said he had requested permission from the late Queen to keep his beard for the big day, despite being dressed in military uniform, and she gave him the green light. The same privilege was not afforded to William on his big day with Kate in 2011.

Harry told ITV’s Tom Bradby: “I think William found it hard that other people told him to shave it off, and yet here I was on my wedding day wearing military uniform, no longer in the military, but thinking as though I – believing as though I – should shave it off before my wedding day.”