Prince William hints at new look: “I might shave my beard and keep the mustache”

The Prince of Wales visited the 1st Battalion of the Mercian Regiment in Bulford, Wiltshire, on March 26.

During a morning coffee with officers, soldiers, and their families in the officers’ mess, the prince discussed the possibility of changing his appearance, inspired by the style of some service members. According to the Daily Mail, William admired their mustaches and remarked: “I might shave my beard and keep the mustache.”

Since the summer of 2024, Prince William has sported a neatly trimmed beard, marking a departure from his decades-long clean-shaven look (apart from a brief holiday stubble in December 2008). He first appeared with the beard in August 2024 in a video address to Team UK for the Summer Olympics in Paris, alongside his wife, Catherine, Princess of Wales.

However, a few weeks later, during a visit to a church near Balmoral Castle in Scotland with Princess Catherine, the beard was gone, raising questions about whether the new style would last. After returning from summer break in September 2024, William resumed appearing in public with the beard, and it has remained his signature look since.

Former aide Jason Knauf told 60 Minutes Australia in February 2025 that the beard continues only with Princess Catherine’s approval. “If she didn’t like it, it wouldn’t be there. I can confirm that,” he said. Knauf added that the prince takes his style seriously: “I tried to discuss it with him, but he just said, ‘The beard is there. End of story. No more talk.’”

Prince William also revealed that his first 2024 beard didn’t last because of a strong reaction from his daughter, Princess Charlotte. “Charlotte didn’t like it, she cried, so I had to shave it off. Then I grew it back and convinced her it was fine,” he shared previously.

Interestingly, according to Prince Harry’s memoir Spare, William had felt a twinge of jealousy when Queen Elizabeth allowed Harry to wear a beard at his wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018, despite the British Army’s rules against facial hair at the time. The Duke of Sussex has kept a beard since 2013, which has become a hallmark of his style.