In the lead-up to Harry and Meghan’s fairytale ceremony, there was certainly plenty of tension, especially between the two Prince brothers.
Every wedding has a stress point and crosswords are easily exchanged when emotions are so high, especially at a role wedding where everything is under a microscope.
However, there is normal drama and then there is the odd drama that Harry had to go through with his brother William before his wedding.
The slightly weird dispute was over whether or not the groom was allowed to wear a beard – according, at least, to 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 bristles, telling Harry they were not appropriate.
In his book, he said: “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.”
In the memoir, ghost-written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author JR Moehringer, Harry says he was driven to ask his grandmother, the late Queen, for permission in person, explaining that the beard made him feel calmer. Harry said in his book that when he spoke to the late Queen she consented to him keeping his beard. He wrote in his book: “Yes, she said, you may keep your beard,’ writes Harry. ‘But then I explained it to my brother and he… bristled? Not the done thing, he said. Military rules, and so forth.”
Harry says he gave his older brother ‘a quick history lesson’ with the help of Google showing William images of Royal ancestors who were bearded and uniformed, such as Edward VII and George V. But ultimately when Harry explained he had already been granted permission by their grandmother to keep the facial hair, William “became livid.” Harry reports his brother saying: “You put her in an uncomfortable position, Harold! She had no choice but to say yes.”
According to Harry, William was livid and didn’t let go of the argument for more than a week. It culminated, according to Harry, with William ordering him to shave his beard off but when Harry asked why on earth it mattered, he got the answer where William allegedly said: “Because I wasn’t allowed to keep my beard.”
Harry concludes: “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.” William, it should be said has never commented on the claims – or given his side of the story.
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Source: Los Angeles Times1
