Prince William revealed a new beard in a viral video alongside Princess Kate in which they paid tribute to Britain's Olympic athletes.
The Prince of Wales taped a "thank you" message as the couple have been out of the public eye for the summer with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who are on school holidays.
And he was sporting an unmistakable stubble as well as a tan, which showed the couple have managed to unwind during their break from the limelight.
This is not the first time William has worn facial hair, having previously maintained a full-face beard prior to his wedding to Kate.
It is yet to be seen whether the prince, 42, will keep his new look or whether it is simply a holiday beard.
William wore a blue Team GB polo shirt as he stood alongside Kate to congratulate Britain's sporting heroes on their achievements at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
"From all of us watching at home, congratulations to Team GB," Kate said. Prince William added: "Well done on all you've achieved. You're an inspiration to us all."
The couple posted the video, which also featured Snoop Dogg and David Beckham, alongside the message: "Well done @TeamGB, what an incredible journey! Every athlete showed immense dedication, heart and passion.
"You made us all so proud! Here's to celebrating every triumph at @Paris2024 and looking forward to more from @ParalympicsGB later in the summer 🇬🇧🥇."
The post was liked more than 20,000 times and viewed 787,000 times on X, formerly Twitter, while fans praised William's new look.
One wrote: "Our Prince and Princess of Wales are definitely on holiday mode and they look beautiful as always!!
"Look at William's beard and Catherine's new hair color.. and she looks so healthy 😍😍😍 what a great surprise today! William can definitely pull this look off."
William recently got a boost after the British Army changed its dress code to allow beards while in uniform from March 29 this year.
The future king will be commander-in-chief once he takes the throne and holds honorary military titles that see him represent the crown in uniform, including riding during the Trooping the Color Sovereign's birthday parade.
However, Prince Harry also held such titles and it did not stop him sporting a beard during his time as a working royal.
One royal fan also pointed out William and Harry's father and grandfather both had beards when they were younger: "Prince Philip and Prince Charles with beards. This is where Prince William and Prince Harry get the beard inspiration from."
Another fan wrote on X: "I now understand why they didn't go to the Olympics. Princess Catherine saw Prince William with the beard and said, 'I don't want to share you with anyone like this, and I don't want you to shave it off so we're not going.' And I can't blame her for that."
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III and Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
