Tension before a wedding is expected and in 2018 in the lead-up to Harry and Meghan’s fairytale ceremony, there was certainly plenty of it.

From dresses to tiaras, there were stress points and crosswords everywhere like a landmine. To add to all of the chaos there was also uncertainty over whether or not the father of the bride, Thomas Markle would be well enough to come. In the end, Prince Charles did walk Meghan down the aisle at St George’s Chapel.

However, none of the above is strange or something that wouldn’t occur at any old wedding. However, there was once slightly weird dispute which was the row 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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