Most weddings suffer from a bit of ‘pre-match tension’ and there was certainly plenty of that in the lead up to Harry and Meghan’s fairytale ceremony in 2018.
There were crossword puzzles about bridesmaid dresses and tiaras. There was uncertainty over whether the father of the bride, Thomas Markle, would be well enough to come.
In the event he was not and Prince Charles walked Meghan down the aisle at St George’s Chapel.
But one of the strangest disputes of all must have been the row over whether or not the groom was allowed to wear a beard – according to, at least, Prince Harry in his best-selling memoir, Spare.
In Harry’s telling of the story, his older brother went so far as to try and ban his hair, telling Harry they were inappropriate
Meghan looks lovingly at her furry new husband – and his beard – on their wedding day in 2018
A clean-shaven Prince William is followed on his wedding day by his younger and defiant bearded brother
Prince Harry reveals an argument about his beard in his controversial memoir, Spare
“A beard was seen by some as a clear breach of protocol and long-standing norms, especially as I was getting married in my army uniform,” Harry explains in the book.
“Beards were banned in the British army.”
In the memoir, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author JR Moehringer, Harry says he was driven to personally ask his grandmother, the late Queen, for permission, explaining that the beard made him feel calmer.
“Yes, she said, you may keep your beard,” Harry wrote. ‘But then I explained it to my brother and he… rushed?
‘Not the finished thing,’ he said. Military rules, and so on.’
Harry says he gave his older brother “a quick history lesson” with the help of Google, which showed William images of royal ancestors who were bearded and in uniform, such as Edward VII and George V.
George V wore a beard in uniform – and at the altar, as Prince Harry explains
But when Harry played his trump card and explained he had already got permission from their grandmother to keep the facial hair, William became ‘furious’.
Harry reported his brother saying, ‘You’ve put her in an awkward position, Harold! She had no choice but to say yes.’
According to Harry, he adds that William ‘wouldn’t let it go’ and that the argument ‘continued for over a week in person, on the phone’.
This culminated, according to Harry, with William ordering him to shave off his beard.
Harry says he asked why on earth it mattered, only to get this answer:
“Because I’m not allowed to keep my beard.”
A bearded Prince William at Sandringham in 2008 shortly after he had just completed his special forces training
The smiling brothers were beardless when they walked into Westminster Abbey on Prince William’s wedding day in 2011.
Princess William and Kate wave to the crowd after their wedding service in Westminster Abbey in 2011
Harry concluded, ‘Ah, there it was. After returning from an assignment with Special Forces, Willy had 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 benefit he was denied.”
William, it should be said that he never commented on the allegations – or gave his side of the story.