Prince Harry has welcomed in the New Year with a bushy, ginger beard but his grandmother, the Queen, is stamping down her royal foot and declaring a hair-free zone on the youngster’s chin.
It’s not uncommon to have meddling grandmothers – but when yours is the Queen, most would choose wisely to obey.
But Harry, 29, is unperturbed for now – he wants to show off his beard to girlfriend Cressida Bonas before he falls back into squeaky-clean line.
The scruffy beard was borne during the Prince’s Walking With The Wounded charity trek to the South Pole.
The charming prince thinks the beard is a nice, traditional touch and says despite the Queen’s dislike of it his brother Prince William, Catherine and the rest of his family are quite fond of his new look.
“The rest of the family liked it and were taking the micky – especially his cousin Zara, who dubbed him ‘Prince Hairy’,” a royal source told UK Express.
But Her Majesty is going to need more convincing and is holding on tight to royal traditions that ban all royals, including staff members, from having facial hair.
“She doesn’t mind royal men growing beards when they’re away in the armed forces or out in the wilds, like Harry was in the Antarctic, but she expects them to be clean-shaven when they get home,” the source said.
“Royal staff are not supposed to grow beards or moustaches and she probably thinks it’s difficult to enforce that rule when her own grandson has a beard.
“Harry doesn’t like to upset the Queen and will probably shave it off soon but he’s still a bit of a rebel and he wasn’t going to remove it straight away.”
So just when can we expect Prince Harry to conform and shave off his fluff?
His girlfriend Cressida, 24, is currently living it up on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island in the Caribbean. So unless Harry plans to take his royal whiskers on a cross-Atlantic trip, the Queen may have to endure her pesky grandson’s beard for a little while longer.
