Oh, whoa. It turns out Prince William‘s surprise new beard has a LOT to do with Prince Harry!

ICYMI, to close out the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Prince of Wales and his wife appeared in a video to congratulate Team Great Britain. Not only was it a significant sighting of the pair together amid Princess Catherine‘s cancer battle, but her hubby was also sporting some very rare and unexpected facial hair!! Ch-ch-check it out!

Well, it turns out there’s a way more complicated backstory to this look — and of course, it has something to do with his feud with Harry!

Royal fans might remember that back in 2008, the heir to the throne rocked a beard during the family’s traditional Christmas Day church outing. It was a surprising move considering he’d always been clean-shaven, perhaps thanks to his time in the Royal Air Force, where facial hair is forbidden. Folks were torn on the look.

(c) Anwar Hussein/WENN
But things were quite different for his younger brother, who returned from a 2013 charity trip to the South Pole with a beard. He shaved shortly after, but the beard returned in 2015. And unlike William, it stuck around — even at his wedding, which was typically a big no-no in royal circles!

In his book Spare, the father of two recalled asking Queen Elizabeth II for her permission to keep his beard for his wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018. He said it was “not a small ask” since beards were forbidden in the British Army and he was planning to wear his uniform for the ceremony. But he felt the facial hair acted as a “security blanket” and the Suits alum had never seen him without it. He wrote:

“I didn’t want her coming down the aisle and seeing a total stranger.”

While Her Majesty allowed it, Will allegedly “bristled” when he found out, encouraging Harry to “shave it off” regardless. When asked why it bothered him so much, the father of three supposedly told his younger sibling:

“Because I wasn’t allowed to keep my beard.”

Harry mused:

“Ah — there it was. After he’s 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. He hated the idea of me enjoying a perk he’d been denied.”

Oof.

Everything was always a competition between them. Even something as simple as facial hair. LOLz!! William must be feeling so proud of himself for pulling off the beard now! Maybe he’s thinking he’s going to be in charge soon enough and can do what he’s always wanted? We wonder if he’ll be forced to shave it off for now though…