It's been more than a month since Prince William rocked a beard for the first time in almost a decade, and it looks like the future King's facial hair is here to stay.
The Prince of Wales stepped out for the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph this weekend, standing with poise and pride as he respectfully laid a wreath of poppies to mark the Armistice of the First World War and all other conflicts involving British and Commonwealth forces.
Looking smart and sophisticated, the Prince donned his Royal Air Force uniform adorned with a poppy brooch from the Royal British Legion - though his sharp bristling beard caught the attention of royal fans.
A video shared to social media platform TikTok, using No Doubt's 'Just A Girl' backing track, has gone viral after the poster captioned a video of Prince William on Sunday:
© Chris Jackson/Getty Images"Is it just me, or does Prince William look hot with the beard?" Several swoon-worthy comments on the post, which has gained more than 200,000 views since it was posted, agreed
© Chris Jackson/Getty Images"It's proof that a beard can change your life," penned one fan, as another agreed: "I thought exactly the same thing."
A third wrote: "He is so handsome with the beard!"
Prince William's divisive beard
According to Prince Harry, facial hair is a hotly contested topic between the royal brothers.
In his memoir, Spare, the Duke of Sussex wrote that the late Queen had granted him special permission to keep his facial hair on his wedding day to Meghan Markle in 2018, something Prince William was reportedly refused for his own nuptials.
"I explained it to my brother and he… bristled?" Prince Harry said of when he told his brother he would be bearded on his big day.
© Getty"'Not the done thing,', he said. 'Military, rules, so forth.' I gave him a quick history lesson. I mentioned the many royals who'd been bearded. King Edward VII. King George V. Prince Albert. More recently, Prince Michael of Kent. Helpfully I referred him to Google Images. 'Not the same,' he said. When I informed him that his opinion didn't really matter, since I'd already gone to Granny and got the green light, he became livid."
© GettyIt's not known exactly why Prince William has chosen to embrace his facial hair after so many years without it, but his choice to grow it out could be in line with his desire to carry out his duties with a "smaller r in the royal".
William spelled out his philosophy at the end of a major visit to South Africa last week where he mixed the informal with traditional elements of the monarchy, and said he was trying to do things "differently" and wanted to be a prince for his "generation".
