Until Prince William debuted his latest hair transformation, we would have thought the Spencer genes lived on through his uncanny resemblance to his mother, Princess Diana. However, William’s new beard made him look more like a young King Charles III than ever.
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William, 42, caused a stir online when he showed off his beard for the first time in a video message with Kate Middleton to congratulate the British national team on their Olympic success. It’s not the first time William has grown his beard, and every time he does, we’re reminded of how much he resembles his father, who also had a beard back in the day.
William briefly sported a beard in 2008 when he appeared on a church square with the rest of the royal family on Christmas Day. Then, and even now, William has been compared to Charles’ facial hair in the 1970s when he was in the Navy.
For several years, Charles wore a full beard and moustache in one, a facial hair style sometimes called a “naval beard” because the style is permitted in the Royal Navy.
King Charles III with a beard in 1976 in Badminton, England, and Prince William at the Christmas service in St. Mary Magdelene Church on December 25, 2008 in Sandringham, England.
Anwar Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images
Charles’ military career began in 1969 when he began training with the Royal Air Force alongside his studies at Cambridge University. He was awarded his wings in 1971 before embarking on a naval career. He served in the Royal Navy until 1974.
After college, William also went into the military, as is common for most men in the royal family, serving in the British Army and later the Royal Navy before leaving to focus on family life.
Ironically, as SheKnows reported on August 13, William was reportedly not as open-minded when it came to his brother, Prince Harry, keeping his beard. In his memoir Spare, Harry claimed his brother was unhappy with his decision to keep his beard for his 2018 wedding to Meghan Markle, despite Queen Elizabeth II’s approval. Harry claimed William felt the beard violated military protocol.
“When I told him that his opinion didn’t really count as I had already gone to see Grandma and had been given the green light, he became angry. He raised his voice,” Harry wrote. Harry claimed that William “hated the idea of me enjoying an advantage that had been denied to him.”
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