Historically, monarchs were expected to sport a hefty amount of facial hair.
But in recent years, European monarchs have eschewed the hairy look in favor of slicker, clean-shaven appearances.
Of course, the clean-shaven trend largely applies to European aristocracy.
In turn, these rustic looks left the old-money aristocrats looking near unrecognizable.
From majestic muttonchops to princely peach fuzz, these royals looked completely different with facial hair.
But inthe king’s youth, he was considered something of a royal rebel.
With facial hair, Charles looked vastly different.
His fuzz was fleeting, and he soon went back to a slick, smooth appearance.
This may be due to the late Queen Elizabeth II’s intense aversion to facial hair.
William debuted his facial hair in 2008 while in the Royal Navy.
Again, this was likely a means of concealing his identity and it almost certainly worked.
After serving in Barbados, William retained his beard while on a pheasant shoot.
“For the love of God, Willy, why does this matter so much to you?”
Ah, there it was.
Prince Harry
Unlike his big brother, Prince Harry has fully embraced the bearded aesthetic.
When clean-shaven, he had a boyish, baby-faced look to him, appearing younger than his years.
Indeed, his demeanor now exudes that of an average dude.
Tellingly, Harry has said that his beard helps with his anxiety.
Initially, Queen Elizabeth II was unhappy with Harry retaining his beard after serving in the armed forces.
With his arguably colonial mindset, Philip was very much a remnant of a Britain that no longer exists.
In 1965, he once again grew out his stubble during a five-month-long Commonwealth tour.
Andrew’s thick beard made him look vastly different, with the prince resembling a renegade revolutionary.
At the time, the prince was on a wilderness adventure.
“For someone like HRH it is probably bliss.”
In fact, Felipe is one of the only monarchs in Europe to sport a permanent beard.
But there once was a time when the king didn’t have a beard.
When he was crowned in 2014 following the abdication of his scandal-prone father, Felipe looked completely different.
An absence of facial hair made him appear rather ordinary, resembling a politician rather than a royal.
The beard has given the king’s face character, as well as a more debonair and sophisticated look.
For Carl, a beard just makes sense, giving him a more mature and rugged look.
Crown Prince Pavlos is the son of the late Constantine II, the last king of Greece.
Without facial hair, the prince looks rather dashing.
He continued with the clean-shaven countenance into middle age, until one day something rather peculiar happened.
Toward the end of 2020, Pavlos emerged with a handlebar mustache and goatee.
But this time he looked like a totally different person to the dashing Hugh Grant doppelganger.
It seemed the prince took a liking to the mustache, and it remained throughout the early 2020s.
“Hopefully a temporary new look … but he’s kind of cute,” she wrote.
That all changed, however, when he debuted his luxurious ginger beard in 2019.
Without facial hair, the king, who was born in 1967, was rather fresh-faced.
It was a radical move, considering that it’s uncommon for Dutch royals to undergo major makeovers.
“This new beard reflects that, it makes him human.
As a young man, Frederik had a boyish, smooth-skinned countenance.
The king now dons a salt-and-pepper beard, looking like a completely different person to that fresh-faced Danish youth.
Nevertheless, he’s handsome both beardless and with a set of whiskers.
In 2020, Frederik debuted his post-lockdown haircut after growing a wild mane during quarantine.
However, his bristles were still in place, albeit tidied up.
As some commentators have pointed out, the beard is central to the king’s humble and laid-back persona.
“He is already a star among many Danes,” royal biographer Gitte Redder toldThe Telegraph.
“By nature he is open-minded, curious and down to earth …
He looked markedly different without the goatee, which gave his face some character and charm.
The prince is proof of just how much facial hair can change a person’s face.
“I would have been a pro surfer on the World Tour,” he toldNRK.
“Maybe an ex-professional by the way, because now I’m almost 50.”
But with a mustache, he appears far more like an old-school aristocrat.
In 2017, Albert debuted his chevron mustache, which suited his regal bearing.
Historically, it was a requirement for soldiers to have mustaches.
So you’ll see a lot of ‘staches on parade in front of the palace.”
Though he looked distinguished with the ‘tache, Albert’s wife and kids weren’t so keen.
Subsequently, he was looking forward to the day he could finally shave it off.
These days, the prince is back to being bristle-free.
Back in his princely days, Philippe exhibited some majestic facial hair.
In 2009, he debuted his beard and metamorphosed into an entirely different person.
In fact, one would be forgiven for thinking that an imposter had taken Philippe’s place.
The Belgian public agreed.
Despite his apparent dedication to the fuzz, he eventually shaved it off.
As of 2024, his face remains hairless.
