Prince William & his awful beard attended the Sovereign’s Parade on Thursday

On Thursday, Prince William attended the Sovereign’s Parade at the Royal Air Force College. He obviously stepped in for his father, although I do not know if the switch was always planned that way or if Charles canceled at the last minute. William certainly didn’t look like he’d been planning to do this event – he looked like he crawled out of a bottle and put on an Air Force dress uniform without showering. His posture is awful and he’s honestly lost an alarming amount of weight over the course of the year.

Of course, no one is talking about any of that. Instead, they’re talking about his creepy beard. Kensington Palace is doing the most to encourage reporters/supporters to say that the “rugged” beard is making “royal fans weak in the knees.” It’s like we’re watching the royal propaganda campaign unfold in real time and absolutely no royal reporter will mention how creepy it is that William feels the need to copy his brother’s facial hair.

At this Royal Air Force event, William’s aunt, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, also turned up. Rebecca English tweeted that Lady Sarah “heard he was in the area and wanted to support him.” Yeah, more like William is salty that the Spencer family has shown so much love and support for Harry this year, so William is making a point of cozying up to them too.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

122 Responses to “Prince William & his awful beard attended the Sovereign’s Parade on Thursday”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Mel says:

    The beard makes him look worse.

    • Geegee says:

      Much older. He looked in his 50s

      • swaz says:

        He does look in his 50s, the beard added about 10 years.

      • Smart&Messy says:

        He does look older, but the beard is actually making it better. It is the weight loss that aged him so badly, imo. And he looks very troubled/unhappy. Not like I sympathize, but it’s evident that something is going on with him.

      • Ella says:

        Everyone is commenting on how bad he looks responding in masses to the British news photos of him. Men are mostly looking at him in beard & military clothes and saying he does not represent British military strength or values.

        Jude Law recently said he would never bow to royalty and that he believes everyone is equal. He’s playing Henry VIII in his new film. I think everyone should start making these statements more regularly to the media.

      • Ella says:

        Everyone is commenting on how bad he looks responding in masses to the British news photos of him. Men are mostly looking at him in beard & military clothes and saying he does not represent British military strength or values.

        Jude Law recently made a statement about his latest role as Henry VIII and said he would never bow to royalty and that he believes everyone is equal. We need more statements like that made often.

      • blueberry says:

        At first glance he looks like my dad… who is 75…. What has happened? Drugs?

    • Lau says:

      The beard looks worst by the day and the wispy hair on top of his head does nothing to make the entire look better. It’s truly tragic.

    • The second picture is such a condescending look! He looks and acts like SH*T!!

    • the Robinsons says:

      He looks like he slept onthestreets.

    • NotSoSocialB says:

      I can’t decide which is worse- bearded or beardless?

      I do think he looks best with both his dome covered by his hat and his face covered with what I’ll loosely refer to as a beard.

      In any case, his posture is so g.d. awful- he’s gonna have such masssice kyphosis in 20 years, yikes.

      • BeanieBean says:

        Yeah, this is Prince Andrew’s posture, and now Charles’, too. Hips forward, shoulders slumped, head hanging. He didn’t spend enough time in the military to get the right posture–look at the young fellow beside him.

    • IdlesAtCranky says:

      He used to be so beautiful.

      It really is a case of his awful personality showing all over his face.

  2. HeatherC says:

    That beard is still so tragic. His uniform looks rumpled. He looks like he’s coming off a week long bender and remembered he had an event, so picked his uniform off the floor, shrugged it on and figured people should just be satisfied with the gift of his presence.

    Harry and his beard look hot in uniform. His uniform is also always pressed, and he’s proud to wear a uniform, as you can see in his posture, unlike his brother.

    As far as Lady Sarah, I think I read somewhere she has honorary military titles or something too? Plus if she did choose to attend to support William, good on her. She’s setting an example for others. Both William and Harry are her nephews, sons of her late sister, and both are family. It’s not like she’s releasing statements on how horrible either one is, or having “friends” do it.

    • villanelle says:

      Thank you. Everyone acts as if the Spencer family should belong only to Harry. Hopefully the Spencers can support BOTH of Diana’s children, as family should do.

  3. Stef says:

    He looks like a wayward trust fund d-bag who just woke up after a three day bender in Ibiza.

    Oh Willy, karma always shows in the face…

  4. sevenblue says:

    It is weird. Beard usually improves a man’s look. Even Charles looked better with a beard. Why does it look so ugly on him? Anyway, I hope, being a little closer to Spencers calms him down.

    • blueberry says:

      I think it’s the head hair that throws it off. He needs to give up the combover and I think this would improve his look

  5. Mrs Robinson says:

    Those long hairs brushed over the top are so embarrassing for him. I wonder if he regrets not doing more to try to save his hairline. In any case—give it up!

  6. tamsin says:

    All I can say is that he doesn’t seem able to fill out the uniform.

    • seaflower says:

      Considering he has access to the best tailors on Saville Row, you would think they could do something to make it fit him better.

  7. Agnes says:

    At first it looked like mold, and now it’s full on green algae slime. It’s f-ing hilarious.

  8. Proud Mary says:

    Is there no one in life whom he would listen to? No one who can tell him that it looks really skeezy?

  9. Nanea says:

    The close-up!

    I just can’t.

    Red nose, the mouth — Harry’s brother really looks sick, and much older than his actual age. Sunburnt, and coming down from a bender at the same time. That beard doesn’t help.

    Doesn’t he have anyone in his life who could tell him to ditch the beard, stop drinking, and change his diet? His posture needs working on too. Doesn’t he do any sports, doesn’t he have a personal trainer who could tell him to work out and on himself? What happened to the valet? Is there really no one to talk some sense into him?

    How majorly unattractive!
    —————
    Edited to add: I think it’s funny that many of us mentioned bender and posture!

    • Normal_Islander says:

      Sunburnt? Or still blotto from the night before?

    • Cali says:

      He does look truly terrible. He must look even worse in real life because these are photos taken by a professional photographer and they are experts at making people look good.
      I’m actually starting to feel sorry for William. He is not a good man and he has treated his brother terribly but it’s painful to see him look so ill physically, mentally and spiritually. He appears to be in deep despair.

  10. Digital Unicorn says:

    He looks rough and by that I mean he looks like he’s aged 20 years overnight rough – I think the beard is to hide how drawn/thin in the face he’s gotten. He’s lost weight and doesn’t look as bloated in the face as he usually does.

    I can’t help but feel that there is something seriously up with the Wails – neither look well. The BRF are truly hanging by a thread as it won’t survive past Charles the way things are at the moment. Only the derangers think William will be a good King – he’ll be lucky to get on the throne with the way he’s looking at the moment.

    • Becks1 says:

      Yeah I’m looking at these pictures – especially the one where he’s glancing sideways at the camera – and I thought lordy he looks awful. Even worse than he did a few days ago in Wales. And its not the beard, although the beard doesn’t help. He looks haggard.

      • Eurydice says:

        Yes, he looks haggard and defeated and depressed, like doesn’t want to be in this life. In a way, he’s been pushing the half in/half out, but maybe Elizabeth was right that it has to be one thing or the other. This path doesn’t seem to be doing him any good.

    • Smart&Messy says:

      I agree that the beard is to hide his wieght loss, not just Harry cosplay. And he looks worse each week we see him. This is so ominous. On the other hand Kate looked well rested and not any thinner than her normal. What is up with them???

    • Islandgirl says:

      William does not look well. Nothing to do with thr bearrd. He actually looks ill.
      What is going on?

  11. Em says:

    He has the weirdest looking face, like someone was trying to make an egg out of play dough and then stretched it a now it looks like a very long egg.

    The only explanation to me for him growing this is that he plans on transplanting it to his head or something

    • Normal_Islander says:

      His beard hair is ginger. If he transplanted it onto his head he’d just look even more jealous of Harry.

    • BeanieBean says:

      😏 I don’t think they transplant facial hair to the head! I think it’s from the back of the head, or wherever it’s thickest on the scalp.

  12. Amy Bee says:

    He looks terrible. I did see Rebecca English and a few other tweet about Aunt Sarah. Considering all the royal reporters tweeted the same comment, it’s clear that it was fed to them by KP. Apparently Sarah used to hold an honorary position in the town and was a regular at this event so I guess that’s why she was invited. It just so happened that William was representing the King this year. It’s interesting that there were no photos of them actually talking to each other. Just one of her standing in the corner.

    • Magdalena says:

      I’m thinking that William heard that Lady Sarah was going to be there and muscled in on the event, knowing that his stenographer friends in the British media would dutifully say she was there to “support” him, instead of that she is a regular at the event.

      He is forever competing with his more accomplished younger brother.

    • Where'sMyTiara says:

      He wants to borrow the Spencer panache/connections/mystique, so he inserts himself into this event she has a history of showing up to.

      I mean the way he treated her during the day is on brand for him; he doesn’t f-ck with the Spencers usually. He’s never had time for any of them. And I’m sure he knows he’ll be pulled up by his uncle for banning the Bashir interview and calling his own mother “paranoid”.

      This is why I don’t believe Huevo was at Fellowes’ funeral/memorial. He doesn’t f-ck with the Spencers.

      • Gabby says:

        I’m on the fence about the funeral myself. But if he skipped it, and all his briefings to the contrary were lies, then that would’ve made this a pretty damn awkward event for William. Painfully so.

  13. Interested Gawker says:

    William looks awful.

    If he is going to be stubborn and keep this hideous beard William will have to learn to use properly applied and blended concealer under his eyes. The beard makes the makes his dark circles there too prominent.

    Beetle Bailey looks better in a uniform than William at this point.

  14. Athena says:

    I think he wakes up every morning hating his life and that a terrible place to be.

  15. FancyPants says:

    Y’all have been saying how awful his beard looks for weeks and I’ve been thinking “well it’s not for me but it’s not *that* bad,” but in these pics- yikes! How is it that color? Y’all have been right all along! He is looking more and more like Uncle Edward every year.

  16. Andy Dufresne says:

    Damn, William looks ROUGH!

    It’s actually quite unfortunate. Karma really took all of Diana’s genes and good looks away from him. Man….what a shame…

  17. Tessa says:

    He looks awful but I guess his minions don’t dare tell him.

  18. Rapunzel says:

    The weight loss is alarming…. does he have some new side piece he’s doing coke or meth with? He really looks like a junkie playing royal dress up.

    • Smart&Messy says:

      Something is going on and yours is a very good guess.

    • Mairzy Doats says:

      Not just weight loss, but muscle loss too. He has no chest. Clearly he doesn’t even do a minimal workout to maintain health and muscle tone.

    • L4Frimaire says:

      He looks really unhealthy and too thin. Thinner than he was in that glossy video. Not sure if it’s stress or self medication but that, combined with his lack of visibility, lack of enthusiasm with the actual duties he shows up for, and something seems very off.

      • Lavendel says:

        I assume that he has always had serious, but perhaps slightly different, psychological problems than Harry had. Panic attacks and feelings of alienation are part of many psychological problems. He always seems sad, arrogant and ready to flee in public appearances. Since no one in this London family really cares about anyone else, all of his problems have probably gotten worse. Conservatives supposedly don’t have psychological problems anyway, right? His father got himself a lot of therapeutic support from an analyst, but he obviously didn’t offer this help to his children. After his father’s illness, the heir is at risk of even more publicity, and with deep-seated psychological problems, that’s probably not a happy future. Thanks to Meghan and his own work, Harry has been able to successfully understand and change his pain. William seems to be getting more and more unhappy. In this strange video it seems as if he needs the support. It’s all a very sick system.

    • Pink tutu says:

      I think it’s coke. He’s got the look.

  19. Jenn says:

    He looks like a homeless man that stole the uniform off the kings washing line. How can someone so privileged look so nasty 🤢🤢

  20. cazzie says:

    I live in Lincolnshire. The whole County knows that Sarah is married to a substantial Lincolnshire land owner and they are bigwigs in the County. As RAF Cranwell is just down the road they would have been invited as a matter of course. She ‘apparently’ saw him at her Brother in Law’s funeral the other week, so why would she need to pop in to check on him again? The Fail are reaching and also losing their collective minds

    • Magdalena says:

      THIS. Great point. She would have been there whether or not he attended. The reporters are still bending over backwards to embiggen the twit who just told them (again) to F* themselves.

  21. Harla says:

    For some reason, recent photos of William very much remind me of Zoolander’s Blue Steel look. That beard is doing nothing for him, the dirty blonde/gray just looks dirty to me.

  22. Tessa says:

    It looks like the beard is painted on .

  23. Gabby says:

    Bringing a Spencer to use as a human prop escalates the Harry stalking to a new level. I wonder if Harry should get a restraining order just in case.

  24. SarahCS says:

    Wasn’t the whole wedding/beard thing because beards were not allowed with the uniform in that branch of the services? Hence Harry getting special dispensation from the most senior person in the hierarchy – his grandmother. Does that not apply to this uniform or does he just not GAF?

    • sevenblue says:

      BBC says in 2024, “soldiers and officers are now allowed to grow beards while serving in the British Army.” It might be royal wedding being an official event for the royal family and UK government and so, they don’t have much freedom offered there even though it isn’t like Will or Harry was active soldiers in the army. I also remember seeing Philip with beard while in uniform, so I guess no problem there for normal events.

  25. L4Frimaire says:

    His posture is terrible and that beard makes him look like a hobo.

  26. Tina says:

    That man is miserable. He can’t even fake it at all. Would love to be a fly on any palace wall and find out what’s really going on.

  27. Gigi says:

    I think it would look better if he picked up a Grecian formula beard kit to cover the grey. And get rid of what appears to be a four hair combover attempt on the top of his head. In fact, shave his head but keep a dark beard.

  28. Joanne says:

    I don’t know what happened to William in the last year but whatever it was it broke him completely. He’s a literal shell of himself. The weight loss, the terrible posture like it would hurt him to stand up straight, the dark circles and that tragic beard are showing a desperately unhappy man. He looks haunted by demons in his head.
    I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve every bit of it but I would love to know what happened.

    • Smart&Messy says:

      Same! He looks completely wrecked. And the comment above about possible coke/meth benders could still be true as a coping mechanism. I have so many theories, and it’s frustrating that we might never know the truth.
      One of my theories is that he committed a serious crime. It might not even be related to Kate or his family. Considering his circumstances, whatever he did was directly or indirectly witnessed by someone around him for sure. It’s weighing on his conscience AND it can be lorded over him for the rest of his life. See example no1 Andrew.

      • Interested Gawker says:

        Thinking back to how totally out of it he was at that investiture, and that the footage of him swaying and dropping the medal was allowed to be seen in video and stills in the BM, makes William having committed a crime a strong theory.

    • Kat says:

      He looks terrible.The awful beard does not help, makes him look like a rough sleeper.Kate does not look like anything’s wrong with her, but but Willy certainly does not look well.His weight loss is dramatic.
      What on earth happened between those two?.I don’t think we will ever know the truth.

    • Unblinkered says:

      Not for the first time I – inexplicably, really – find myself almost feeling sorry for him. I say that, despite his treatment of H&M.

      Not sure that he committed an actual crime. My sense is that whatever was brokered with the Middletons earlier this year, and perhaps culminating in this week’s ridiculous video announcement, has totally played out in KM’s favour and W’s been left high & dry – and powerless. Again, my sense is what we’re seeing is emotional blackmail. That’s why he looks so rough and so unhappy.

      But the Middletons must have agreed to something too, something that suits W……

  29. Grant says:

    Am I the only one who likes the beard? I think it suits him, if he could trim it up a bit and then shave that head, he’d give Stanley Tucci vibes.

    • BQM says:

      I’m with you. He needs to go full Tucci. He always looks better in a hat. It’s amazing how much it changes him. Some men just don’t do bald well. His weight loss is shocking though.

  30. Glamarazzi says:

    Maybe he needs to grow it out a bit more? Like his great-grandpa King George V. Maybe even get a swag mustachio winging out from the top lip. Something isn’t quite working yet.

    • Tessa says:

      I don’t think it will ever work. He has those Hanoverian features that don’t look good with a beard

  31. Bamaborn says:

    Two things stand out to me. (1) Whatever happened 12/28/2023 was major and Kate, William and Charles have looked the worse for wear ever since(not even Kate’s new face can change anything). (2) Prince Harry’s emergency trip over upon hearing his father had cancer, when he probably would have already known this, never made sense. Remember, if they announce something, it’s probably been going on for awhile. We might never know, but, it definitely appears to be taking a toll on those 3.

    • Smart&Messy says:

      I don’t know about Kate. I haven’t read all of the other posts about the new video, but I think she looks much like her old self, before she started falling apart last fall. It’s just William and Charles.

      • Interested Gawker says:

        But it seems she needed to be ‘put back together’ in seclusion to get her that way. For months ‘all’ her faces ‘looked like Kate’ but did not actually ‘match’ one another. It would be interesting to have them all placed in a grid next to each other. The differences can’t be explained by illness or Photoshop tweaking alone. The facial structure of the Kate who entered the carriage for Trooping(Vivian Leigh Kate) was different to Kate on the balcony (Joan Crawford Kate). Romping in the woods Kate is back to her old self (though distractingly toothy…)

        “Whatever happened 12/28/2023 was major and Kate, William and Charles have looked the worse for wear ever since”

        I agree with this. That video was amplified immediately to become part of the narrative. It was meant to be purposeful misdirection in the midst of KP’s attempt to control social media and marked the earliest time period KP’s minions ‘told on themselves’. The lengthy stay, long recuperation and the need to insist she was to be bedridden -against modern advice for abdominal surgery issues also pointed to getting around the issues they were facing without admitting the true situation.

    • Unblinkered says:

      I really would say that the hugely differing faces of KM are simply down to photoshop. So much of what’s released has been tweaked it’s now nigh on impossible to ‘place’ the real woman. And this latest ridiculous video with its soft-focus has to have been done to soften her appearance.
      The cancer announcement video was, for me, KM heavily caked in a pale foundation and then edited to project ill-health and fragility.

  32. Jay says:

    Woof – that is a scraggly chin. It’s looks like he rolled around on a barbershop floor.

  33. Monc says:

    Nope nope nope…. Those wisps of hair in the top of his head… shave the sides!!!

    I have issue with his mouth that houses those loooong teeth… he’s always with the purses lips…

    He does not give off any sense of strength or masculinity… ick ….

  34. Brassy Rebel says:

    Well, now we know why QEII did not want William to have a beard. In “Spare”, Harry trolled him hard on the subject, even as he described the lengths William went to get him to shave.

  35. girl_ninja says:

    He looks like shit you guys. And is aging like milk in the Arizona desert.

  36. SenseOfTheAbsurd says:

    Like a rat peering through a toilet brush.

  37. Ameerah M says:

    God – he looks AWFUL. And the beard is actually making it worse because it’s drawing attention to his eyes and his neck – and you can tell how haggard and thin he is. His forehead is a prime example of why you moisturize and use sunscreen.

  38. Lady Digby says:

    Tiggy was his nanny for years is she capable of a motherly chat and suggesting therapy and or rehab? He looks terrible here and maybe he sneers at therapy for himself because it helped Harry so much but really an intervention is looking necessary.

  39. kelleybelle says:

    Gross.

  40. lenore says:

    William has looked far more ill than his wife all year.

  41. wolfmamma says:

    William: seek help ~ really

    This dodgy beard, weight loss, and whatever else you are doing/ living isn’t working for you right now.

    Really not

  42. Valerie says:

    He looks like he is the most ill one in the family.

  43. BeanieBean says:

    Wow, he’s really deteriorated. And quickly. Lost weight, crappy posture, but he does seem to be getting some sun. Has it been sunny in Norfolk???

    • LRB says:

      We have had a bad summer, but I suppose if you are outside a lot of time you do get a tan. More likely they have been abroad for an extended holiday.

  44. Fastgran50 says:

    He looks like a drug addict. If you met him on the street you would think he was @ junkie.

  45. veryvirgo14 says:

    I really think that he needs to dye it blond. It will make him look younger (maybe) and remind people that he used to be a good looking blue eyed blond.

  46. CC says:

    He looks like James Cromwell without a soul.

  47. Advisor2U says:

    Massive weight loss, grumpy appearances every so often, slumped old man’s posture; could it be that – all along – the palace has been telling the public about a certain illness affecting the wrong Wales?

    • Interested Gawker says:

      I remember the mighty, mighty Mary Pester hinting that William might have a health issue of his own while mentioning the observation that other people in the room were not inclined to be near him or assist him when he dropped the medal at that investiture ceremony when he was swaying -near to the time the article about ‘What would happen if Prince William committed a crime?’ was published, I think.

  48. MaisiesMom says:

    I don’t know why the beard is so bad on him but it is. Maybe because it looks scraggly and unshapely? Or draws attention to his jaw and teeth, which are very prominent? Or maybe he just looks haggard and drawn and disheveled in general, and the beard just compounds that.

    There is something wrong with him and it is sort of concerning. Is it physical or mental? Or I’m guessing, the latter but manifesting itself in the former.

    • Tashiro says:

      Yes, something is wrong. If those BM sickophants really cared about him they would be speaking out. Instead the family is just a money machine for them.

  49. Chrawi says:

    It looks like the hair on the sides of his head has the help of colored spray to make it look like there’s more hair. That helps with the sharp edges to his hair, and I suspect some areas of his beard, especially under his jawline, have colored spray also

  50. TN Democrat says:

    Has he always had the comb-over? Could he be growing the comb-over to get some sort of hair transplant? He looks in need of an intense intervention. What he has done to his brother is deliberately horrific, but equally horrific is the complacency of everyone in his orbit (including the media) in not calling out his haggard appearance and instances when he appeared impaired at events. Long term untreated mental illness and addiction have an outcome everyone in his orbit should be trying to intervene to prevent. If he refuses interventions, he should be called out in the media until he gets treatment or is forced out, like Harry. This man should not be anywhere near state secrets. He looks like someone that would make you hold your purse tighter when you see him on the street.

  51. Helena says:

    He looks like a shitty Dictator!

  52. Serena says:

    The beard plus the weight loss plus that drunken flush all age him terribly.

  53. Ina says:

    From ugly to FUGLY

  54. chatter says:

    William looks old and tired with that beard. Maybe if it grows out and is thicker it may look better.
    Problem with full beards is as years go by, once you shave it then you really look older.

    How does William have such poor posture? He was in the military. Charles and Phillip both still have excellent posture and are fit.