Over the last couple of months, Prince William has been sporting a new look.
The future King of England made the decision to grow a beard, opting to leave his clean shaven days behind him.
However, while fans of the royal family have shared their approval of his new look, Prince William revealed in a new interview that his daughter, Princess Charlotte originally hated the look.
So much so that she was left in tears.
“Well, Charlotte didn’t like it the first time,” the dad of three shared while visiting Cape Town, South Africa, according to People. “I got floods of tears… so I had to shave it off.”
“Then I grew it back,” he continued. “I thought, hang on a second, and I convinced her it was going to be okay.”
And while some people have said the beard has made Prince William look more “relaxed” or “laid-back,” he said that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“It’s interesting you say that, because I couldn’t be less relaxed this year,” he told reporters. “So it’s very interesting you’re all seeing that.”
William went as far as to call the last year “brutal” as he watched both his father, King Charles, and his wife, Princess Catherine battle undisclosed forms of cancer.
“It’s been dreadful,” he said according to the BBC. “It’s probably been the hardest year in my life.”
“I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done. But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.”
Prince William was in Cape Town presenting The Earthshot Prize, which was launched by him in 2020 and was inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s “Moonshot” challenge in 1962, its official website explained.
Princess Catherine did not join Prince William during the visit. But William said his wife was doing “really well, thanks. And hopefully, she is watching tonight. So cheering me on.”
Catherine was diagnosed with cancer at the start of 2024 and had been undergoing treatments for much the year.
In September, she revealed that she had finished her chemotherapy but still had a long road ahead.
“She’s been amazing this whole this whole year,” William added. “I know she will be really keen to see tonight be a success.”