Beardgate: Prince Harry’s memoir exposes Prince William's 'jealousy'

Prince William recently surprised fans by debuting a new appearance during the Olympic Games closing ceremony, where he congratulated Team GB athletes.

Dressed casually in a polo shirt, William, who was stood alongside wife Kate, said: "Well done on all you achieved" in the clip.

But many viewers were left distracted by his new look with one gushing on social media: "Wow! I'm loving the facial hair! Very handsome."

Meanwhile, William's new beard look brought to mind his previous alleged feud with his estranged brother Prince Harry.

In his explosive memoir Spare, Harry alleged that his older brother instructed him to shave his beard for his 2018 wedding to Meghan Markle, accusing William of jealousy, reported Mirror. 

This disagreement, later dubbed #beardgate on social media, was highlighted by Harry's request to the late Queen to keep his beard for the occasion, despite wearing military uniform. The Queen granted this request, a privilege that William, who wed Kate in 2011, did not receive

Harry told ITV's Tom Bradby: "I think William found it hard that other people told him to shave it off, and yet here I was on my wedding day wearing military uniform, no longer in the military, but thinking as though I – believing as though I should shave it off before my wedding day."

Meanwile, the Duke of Sussex wrote in his book: "And yet I now dared to make another ask – Granny, please, may I, for my wedding, keep my beard? Not a small ask either. A beard was thought by some to be a clear violation of protocol and long-standing norms, especially since I was getting married in my Army uniform. Beards were forbidden in the British Army."

And when William found out he was granted permission, Harry said he "became livid." He claimed William said: "You put her in an uncomfortable position, Harold! She had no choice but to say yes." Harry said that William wouldn't let it drop, with the argument continuing for more than a week.

It culminated, according to Harry, with William ordering him to shave it off. He claimed he responded: "For the love of God, Willy, why does this matter so much to you? 'Because I wasn't allowed to keep my beard.' 

Ah, there it was. After he'd 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."