Prince William ’s new vacation beard, displayed in a short clip to mark the closing of the Olympics, is being seen by friends as a “new installment of the beard wars” with Prince Harry . One friend of William’s told The Daily Beast: “It was a slight surprise to see William do a public video with the beard. It’s an unexpected new installment of the beard wars.
” The phrase refers to the bad-tempered argument about Harry’s beard between William and Harry that fed into the collapse of their relationship in the tense run-up to Harry’s wedding. In his memoir, Spare , Harry explained how he first grew his beard while on an expedition in the South Pole and had come to rely on it as a “Freudian security blanket,” saying it made him feel “calmer.” Harry wrote that he asked his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II , who was reputedly not overly keen on beards, for permission to keep it for his wedding to Meghan Markle , and that she “understood.
” But he said that when he told his brother, William “bristled” and said it was inconsistent with military rules—relevant as he was getting married in uniform—and precedent. Harry hit back, citing historical examples of bearded royals including King Edward VII and George V, but William still said it wasn’t appropriate. Harry then 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.
He raised his voice.” William ac.