In August, Prince William got a rapturous response when he debuted a vacation beard in a video with Snoop Dogg where he celebrated British athletes who competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics. But when William was spotted alongside Kate Middleton driving to church on August 25, the facial hair was gone. The prince must have heard about the internet’s disappointment, because by Thursday he was sporting the beard again during a visit to the Saatchi Gallery in London.
William made his return to royal duties following a summer break in order to see a new art show co-sponsored by Homewards, the homelessness charity he helped found in 2023. Homelessness: Reframed contains art that challenges stereotypes about unhoused people, and during the trip he met with artists and curators who worked on the exhibition, including Rankin, a photographer who took a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in 2001.
One artist, David Tovey, contributed a piece based on a structure he lived in during his own experience with homelessness. According to Hello, William spoke with him about the work and the show as a whole. “Do you think we’ve got the right tone?” the prince said. “I really want people to feel this, experience it. To change perceptions.”
The trip to the gallery marked the first time William donned facial hair on a public engagement since Christmas Day in Sandringham in 2008. Though there are no official royal prohibitions on facial hair, beards were not permitted in the British Army until this spring, and clean shaven faces on royals who wear uniform seems to have been a preference of the late queen. In his memoir, Spare, Prince Harry wrote that he had to seek special permission to wear a beard during his 2018 wedding to Meghan Markle, adding that this caused tension with his older brother, who was not permitted to wear one during his 2011 wedding.
